An intense verbal clash has erupted between Israel and Turkey following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s threat that Turkey could intervene militarily in Israel’s conflict with Gaza. Turkish and Israeli officials exchanged sharp remarks on both Sunday and Monday after Erdogan’s speech, in which he stated that “there is no reason” for Turkey not to take action, referencing previous military interventions in other countries.
Despite the harsh rhetoric that has characterized relations between the two nations during the Gaza conflict, the threats and insults have intensified amid growing fears of a broader escalation. Shortly after Erdogan’s address, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz tweeted that the Turkish president “follows in the footsteps” of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein by threatening to attack Israel. “Let him just remember what happened there, and how it ended,” he wrote, referencing Hussein’s notorious capture by American forces in 2003.
In a response, Turkey— not for the first time—compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler. “Just as the genocidal Hitler ended, so will the genocidal Netanyahu also end,” stated the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Just as the genocidal Nazis were held accountable, so will those who attempt to exterminate the Palestinians be held accountable. Humanity will stand with the Palestinians. You will not be able to exterminate the Palestinians,” they added.
Erdogan, who has consistently made strong statements during Israel’s ten-month-long war in Gaza, suggested military intervention in his speech to his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Sunday. “We must be very strong so that Israel cannot commit these ridiculous acts against Palestine. Just as we entered Karabakh, just as we entered Libya, we can do something similar against them,” he said.
Turkey has supported the Tripoli-based government in Libya and sent troops to the North African country in 2020 to back the UN-supported administration. In the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, where Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan has fought Armenia for decades, Turkey has refrained from engaging in direct military operations but has pledged support to Azerbaijan “by all means.”
In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan boasted that Erdogan “has become the voice of humanity’s conscience.” “International Zionist circles, especially Israel, which wish to suppress this just voice, are in great alarm,” he wrote. “History ended the same way for all genociders and their supporters.”
In April, Turkey restricted certain export goods to Israel—six months into the Gaza war—and announced a complete halt to trade with Israel in early May. Israel responded by canceling the country’s free trade agreement with Turkey, with Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich indicating that the step could be reversed when Erdogan is succeeded by a leader who is “sane and not an Israel-hater.”