Turkey’s President has furiously denounced the Prime Minister of
Israel,
Benjamin Netanyahu, as the “leader of a terrorist state” as a vicious war of words between the two countries continues.
President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan made his comments at his party’s congress in southern Turkey.
His remarks came after protestors in
Gaza were shot dead by the Israeli army.
President Erdogan said: “I do not need to tell the world how cruel the Israeli army is.
“We can see what this terror state is doing by looking at the situation in Gaza and
Jerusalem.
“Israel has carried out a massacre in Gaza and Netanyahu is a terrorist.
“We will continue to expose Israeli terror all the time and on all platforms.”
More than 1,400 people were injured and 17 people were killed last week after Israel open fired on Palestinians.
Violence broke out on Friday as thousands of in Gaza started a six-week long protest along the 40-mile border and set up tent encampments to fight for their right to return to Israel.
Both UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the European Union’s top diplomat, Federica Mogherini, have called for an independent investigation into Friday’s bloodshed.
Tensions between the Turkey and Israel are running high with diplomatic relations strained.
However, Mr Netanyahu has hit back at the allegations from his Turkish counter-part.
He said: “The most moral army in the world will not be lectured by those who have indiscriminately bombed civilian populations for years.”
He added: “Apparently this is how April Fool’s Day is celebrated in Ankara.”
President Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) were reported to have announced last month that they want to create an “army of Islam” to wage war against Israel.
Turkish state’s mouthpiece the daily Yeni Şafak ran an article for Erdogan titled “A call for urgent action” and on the newspaper’s website headlined “What if an army of Islam formed against Israel?”
It called for the 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to form a joint army to simultaneously attack Israel from all sides.
The article said: “If the member states of the OIC unite militarily, they will form the world’s largest and most comprehensive army.
“The number of active soldiers would be at least 5,206,100, while the defence budget would reach approximately $175billion (£124billion).”