International

Israel recalls envoys from Turkey after Erdogan’s outburst

Published

6 months ago

October 28, 2023

Israel has recalled its envoys from Turkey with immediate effect.

This followed a speech by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at a large pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul on Saturday.

Erdoğan told the crowd of demonstrators, without naming a specific country, that Western governments are the main culprit behind the “massacre” in the Gaza Strip.

The Turkish leader accused Israel of “committing a war crime” and Western politicians of “legitimising” the actions against the Palestinians.

Erdogan cancelled plans to visit Israel this week after he called the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, freedom fighters, not terrorists.

The death toll in the three-week-old conflict has surpassed 5,000, with the victims mostly women and children, as Israel continues its bombardments of Gaza.

There are fears the ongoing campaign in Gaza will draw other nations in the Middle East, including Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, and Egypt, into conflict with Israel.

The Israeli Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, confirmed the recall of the diplomats in a statement posted on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.

He wrote: “Given the grave statements coming from Turkey, I have ordered the return of diplomatic representatives there in order to conduct a re-evaluation of the relations between Israel and Turkey.”

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