Ankara slams Israeli top diplomat’s anti-Erdoğan statement

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli has criticized Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz over his statement against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and recalled that it was the Israeli army who killed 35,000 Palestinian civilians.

“It is the Israeli authorities who should be ashamed. They have massacred nearly 35,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The efforts of the members of the Israeli Government to change the agenda will not yield results,” Keçeli said in a written statement late on April 20.

Katz, in a message on his social media, posted a picture of Erdoğan with Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh and said that the Turkish president should be ashamed for meeting the Hamas official.

Keçeli underlined once again that Türkiye’s priority is to bring an end to the massacre in Gaza and the establishment of a Palestinian state to ensure lasting peace in our region.

“We will continue to work in this direction and tell the truth about the crimes committed by the Israeli authorities,” he added.

In the meantime, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson Ömer Çelik also slammed the Israeli foreign minister through a statement on his social media.

“The Israeli foreign minister’s impertinent statement targeting our president is nothing but an effort to cover up the massacres committed by the Israeli government,” Çelik said.