Turkey could take military action against Israel if necessary, Erdogan warned, comparing past interventions in Karabakh and Libya.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday accused Israel of atrocities against Palestine and Lebanon and threatened possible military action against the Jewish state, similar to past interventions in Karabakh and Libya.
“The blood-stained genocide network continues to kill innocent children, women and civilians without any rules or principles, disregarding all human values,” Erdogan charged in an address to the International Conference of Asia-Political Parties in Istanbul.
“Despite the ceasefire, Israel has forced 1.2 million Lebanese to flee their homes due to attacks on civilian settlements,” Erdogan said, even as Israel and the United States denied claims that Lebanon was included in the current ceasefire with Iran. Erdogan described Israeli actions as “barbaric” while the Turkish leader said the Knesset recently passed a controversial law approving the death penalty against terrorists “only for Palestinian prisoners”.
Responding to reporters later in the day, Erdogan stepped up his rhetoric, suggesting that Ankara might engage militarily with Israel.
“We must be strong to prevent Israel from doing this to Palestine,” Erdogan said. “As we entered Karabakh, as we entered Libya, we will do the same to them,” he said. “There is nothing to stop us from doing this. We just need to be strong so that we can take these steps.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the Conference of International Asia-Political Parties in Istanbul on April 12, 2026. (Credit: Screenshot as per 27A of Copyright Act)
Erdogan’s harsh rhetoric is part of his ongoing narrative of positioning Turkey as a staunch defender of Palestinian rights.
Responding to his comments, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu (Otzma Yehudit) strongly condemned Erdogan’s comments and moral high ground and accused the Turkish leader of hypocrisy, given Turkey’s history of territorial aggression in Cyprus and its treatment of minorities, especially the Kurds.
“Turkey, which conquered northern Cyprus and controlled Kurdish areas in the east, dares to lecture us on morality. Turkey, which built its economy on the Armenian genocide, dares to accuse us of genocide. Turkey, which enforced Islamization by force, dares to talk about human rights,” Eliyahu said in a statement.
“The hypocrite Erdogan is not impressing anyone with this current circus,” he continued, describing the Turkish president as a “megalomaniacal dictator” with “imperialist ambitions” who sees himself as “an Ottoman sultan” while being nothing more than a pathetic dictator of a country with a collapsing economy and a dead democracy.
Eliyahu’s comments not only criticized Erdogan, but also signaled that it was time for Israel and Turkey to “close this sad chapter in relations” and vowed to bring a proposal to the Israeli government to cut diplomatic ties with Turkey altogether.
In his post, Eliyahu shared an AI-edited image showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu planting an Israeli flag on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, while Erdogan is shown bowing at Netanyahu’s feet, possibly referring to Erdogan’s controversial past statements in Turkey.
The escalation comes after Turkish indictments against Israeli lawmakers
The heated exchange followed Friday’s decision by a Turkish court to indict Netanyahu and 35 other Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gavir, for their role in the October 2025 naval blockade of the “Sumud” Gaza flotilla. Istanbul’s chief prosecutor accused the accused of engaging in military operations against civilians in international waters.
Participants in the flotilla, including prominent activists such as Greta Thunberg, were detained by Israeli authorities, and as a result Turkey decided to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others.
The indictment, which seeks lengthy prison terms for those involved in the flotilla disruption, has heightened tensions. Erdogan’s government claims to comply with international law by holding Israeli officials accountable, while Israeli officials, including Netanyahu and Katz, have responded by labeling Erdogan a “paper tiger” and accusing him of hypocrisy and complicity in regional conflicts.
Netanyahu, Katz and Ben-Gavir all responded to the accusations Saturday in separate posts on X/Twitter, with Netanyahu accusing Erdogan of “massacring his own Kurdish citizens” and Ben-Gavir posting, “Erdogan, do you understand English? f*ck you.”
Turkey’s foreign ministry responded to the posts by accusing Netanyahu of being the “Hitler of our time.”
The Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.
