×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Thursday
23
Apr 2026
weather symbol
Athens 12°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> Politics

Netanyahu to Erdogan: “The occupier of northern Cyprus should not preach to Israel”

Erdogan: "The Jews in Israel kick people lying on the ground"

Newsroom December 24 09:49

A weekend war of words between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continued to rage Sunday, with Netanyahu calling Erdogan an “anti-Semite” who is obsessed with Israel while “slaughtering the Kurds.”

His comments came after Erdogan called out Netanyahu over Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians, and the prime minister responded by pointing to Turkey’s operation against the Kurds in its border region with Syria.

“Just now I was exposed to the daily lunacy of the anti-Semitic dictator Erdogan,” Netanyahu said. “He is obsessed with Israel. He knows what a moral army is and he knows what a genuine democracy is, as opposed to an army that massacres women and children in Kurdish villages and a state that, to my regret, is becoming more dictatorial day by day.

“But there has been an improvement,” he added. “Erdogan used to attack me every two hours and now it is every six hours.”

Netanyahu made the remarks at a meeting in Tel Aviv with Christian soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces ahead of Christmas.

Earlier Sunday, Erdogan said of Netanyahu, “You are an oppressor, cruel and at the head of state terror.”

In a televised speech in Istanbul, he also accused Israel of “occupying Palestine” and committing “sins, crimes against humanity, massacres.”

Erdogan, a staunch supporter of the Gaza-ruling terror group Hamas and long a harsh critic of Israel who regularly likens its actions toward the Palestinians to the mass Nazi murder of Jews during the Holocaust, kicked off the spat a day earlier, when he accused Israel of assaulting innocents.

>Related articles

Tom Barrack strikes again: Calls F-35 deadlock “irrational,” leaves door open for Turkey’s return to the program

Serious concern about migration: We have 1.2 million displaced people from Lebanon, says Gerapetritis

Nikos Christodoulides “shut down” Charles Michel: Let me remind you that Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 and continues to occupy European territory

“The Jews in Israel kick people lying on the ground. In fact, Jews don’t kick men but also women and children when they fall on the ground,” Erdogan said in a speech to young Turks at an Istanbul meeting of the Turkey Youth Foundation. “But as Muslims, we’ll confront these people [the Jews] if they have courage to deal with us, and we’ll teach them a lesson.”

Netanyahu told Erdogan in a tweet late on Saturday that he “should not preach to Israel” as “the occupier of northern Cyprus, whose army massacres women and children in Kurdish villages, inside and outside Turkey.”

Read more HERE

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#anti-israel#anti-semitism#cyprus#gaza#israel#Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu#kurds#palestine#politics#turkey#Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
> More Politics

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Britain: The tragic story of a 56-year-old mother travelling to Switzerland to be euthanised after her child’s death

April 23, 2026

Live: Laura Kövesi Press Conference from the Delphi Forum (updated)

April 23, 2026

The chronicle of the murder of Eleftheria Giakoumaki: He shot her in the head, tried to mislead the authorities, and committed suicide

April 23, 2026

“Achilles’ Shield”: the final stretch for the signatures – The dates and which Greek companies are participating

April 23, 2026

Family businesses without successors and the “Third-Generation” challenge

April 23, 2026

AEGEAN: Rising fuel costs linked to the Middle East remain the primary concern – Bookings and demand stay resilient

April 23, 2026

Housing: Subsidy up to €36,000 from May for 30,000 renovations – 20 properties on the market in 2026 for social housing

April 23, 2026

PASOK leadership election on Sunday: Candidate prospects for the position of Secretary

April 23, 2026
All News

> Greece

In reverence, the emotional deposition in Jerusalem, see photos & video

The Holy Temple of the Resurrection opened after many days due to the war between Israel and Iran

April 10, 2026

In the final stretch for the accreditation of joint master’s degrees: Aiming for their launch in the coming academic year

April 10, 2026

Schedule for Epitaph Procession today (10/4)

April 10, 2026

Perfect weather for Easter excursions, according to Tsatrafyllia’s forecast

April 10, 2026

Easter in Greece: The customs that continue in Greek tradition – From Nafpaktos to Corfu

April 10, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα