|
|
Turkey’s president has threatened to invade Israel over its continued bombardment of Lebanon
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, of being “blinded by blood and hate” and said there was “no reason” not to attack.
Mr Erdoğan said: “Had Pakistan not been mediating in the war between the US and Iran, we would have shown Israel its place… Just as we entered Libya and Karabakh, we can enter Israel. There is no reason not to do it.”
The speech came after Turkish prosecutors filed indictments against 35 top Israeli officials, including Mr Netanyahu, seeking a total of more than 4,500 years in prison.
They were charged with crimes against humanity, genocide, torture and unlawful deprivation of liberty, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Akın Gürlek, the Turkish justice minister who served as Istanbul’s chief prosecutor when the investigation began, praised the indictment, calling it “historic”.
The move prompted a strong Israeli response, with Mr Netanyahu saying in a social media post that Mr Erdoğan had “massacred his own Kurdish citizens”.
srael Katz, the Israeli defence minister, who was also named in the Turkish indictments, described the Turkish premier as “a Muslim Brotherhood man”.
The latest spat started last week, after Mr Erdoğan warned Donald Trump of possible “provocations and sabotage” in the wake of the US-Iran ceasefire. He did not name Israel directly, but clearly had the Jewish state in mind.
While Israel was pushing for the fighting with Iran to continue, Mr Erdoğan urged the US president in a phone call that the truce “not be compromised under any circumstances”.
After the latest war of words on Sunday, the Turkish foreign ministry published a formal statement describing Mr Netanyahu as “Hitler of our time”.
The notice, published on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, said: “An arrest warrant has been issued against Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Under Netanyahu’s administration, Israel is facing proceedings before the International Court of Justice on charges of genocide.”
|
This post contains more resources
You have to Login for download or view attachment(s). No Account? Register
x
Rate
-
1
View Rating Log
-
|