Ankara (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday blasted Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu for "daring" to attend an anti-terror solidarity march in Paris, accusing him of leading "state terrorism" against the Palestinians.
The comments, at a press conference in Ankara with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, were the latest verbal assault against Netanyahu by Erdogan under whose rule Turkey's relations with Israel have steadily deteriorated.
He said he could "hardly understand how he (Netanyahu) dared to go" to Sunday's massive march in the French capital and urged him to "give an account for the children, women you massacred."
This is typical Muslim logic. Israel was supposed to do nothing while Hamas launched thousands of rockets into Israel, killing and terrorizing the people. Erdogan also ignores the fact that Hamas deliberately put civilians and children in harm's way so that other countries, like Turkey, would condemn Israel.
Abbas and Netanyahu, as well as Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, joined the solidarity march in Paris in the memory of 17 people killed in Islamist terror attacks last week.
But Erdogan said Netanyahu had no right to be there after nearly 2,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed in Israel's onslaught on Hamas-controlled Gaza earlier this year.
"How can you see this individual, who carries out state terrorism by massacring 2,500 people in Gaza, waving his hand?" said Erdogan.
"He is waving his hand as if people are very enthusiastically waiting for him," added Erdogan, referring to the images of Netanyahu acknowledging supporters in Paris.
The Turkish president is known for his angry outbursts at the Jewish state, declaring in July that Israel had "surpassed Hitler in barbarism".
What a stupid, ignorant, and racist comment to make! What does he know about Hitler? Did his parents or grandparents go through the holocaust? What an absurd comparison; but then, is he saying it because he really believes it, or is he convincing other Muslims, including Turks, that Netanyahu is the personification of evil, while he, himself, is doing a pretty good impression of the evil one? Is he preparing his people to go to war against Israel as Ezekiel 38 and 39 predict?
In 2009, Erdogan walked off the stage at the World Economic Forum after an angry exchange with the the then Israeli president, Shimon Peres.
"Turkey will continue to fight... against Israel's reckless actions that do not recognise law," the Turkish president said.
The Paris rally, which drew 1.5 million people, put Netanyahu and Abbas in the closest proximity for some time, with the Middle East peace talks deadlocked.
Abbas said on Monday he had participated in the rally at the invitation of French President Francois Hollande.
"I haven't seen anyone trying to prevent me from doing so. I was welcomed very well," he said.
"We have a strong relationship with France ... I received an invitation from the president and participated."
Israeli media reported earlier that France had asked Netanyahu to stay away from the march but he ignored the request and attended anyway.
The same message was conveyed to Abbas, Channel Two television and Israeli newspapers reported. But when Netanyahu rejected the appeals of the French government, Abbas was swiftly invited, they said.
In his retort on Wednesday, Netanyahu said: "I've yet to hear any world leader condemn the comments by Erdogan, not one.
"He said that Israel should not have been represented in the march in Paris, and the reason he gave, was our actions to defend our citizens against the thousands of rockets hurled at our cities by the terrorists of Hamas," he added.
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| Recep Tayyip Erdogan |
He said he could "hardly understand how he (Netanyahu) dared to go" to Sunday's massive march in the French capital and urged him to "give an account for the children, women you massacred."
This is typical Muslim logic. Israel was supposed to do nothing while Hamas launched thousands of rockets into Israel, killing and terrorizing the people. Erdogan also ignores the fact that Hamas deliberately put civilians and children in harm's way so that other countries, like Turkey, would condemn Israel.
Abbas and Netanyahu, as well as Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, joined the solidarity march in Paris in the memory of 17 people killed in Islamist terror attacks last week.
But Erdogan said Netanyahu had no right to be there after nearly 2,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed in Israel's onslaught on Hamas-controlled Gaza earlier this year.
"How can you see this individual, who carries out state terrorism by massacring 2,500 people in Gaza, waving his hand?" said Erdogan.
"He is waving his hand as if people are very enthusiastically waiting for him," added Erdogan, referring to the images of Netanyahu acknowledging supporters in Paris.
The Turkish president is known for his angry outbursts at the Jewish state, declaring in July that Israel had "surpassed Hitler in barbarism".
What a stupid, ignorant, and racist comment to make! What does he know about Hitler? Did his parents or grandparents go through the holocaust? What an absurd comparison; but then, is he saying it because he really believes it, or is he convincing other Muslims, including Turks, that Netanyahu is the personification of evil, while he, himself, is doing a pretty good impression of the evil one? Is he preparing his people to go to war against Israel as Ezekiel 38 and 39 predict?
In 2009, Erdogan walked off the stage at the World Economic Forum after an angry exchange with the the then Israeli president, Shimon Peres.
"Turkey will continue to fight... against Israel's reckless actions that do not recognise law," the Turkish president said.
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| Benjamin Netanyahu |
Abbas said on Monday he had participated in the rally at the invitation of French President Francois Hollande.
"I haven't seen anyone trying to prevent me from doing so. I was welcomed very well," he said.
"We have a strong relationship with France ... I received an invitation from the president and participated."
Israeli media reported earlier that France had asked Netanyahu to stay away from the march but he ignored the request and attended anyway.
The same message was conveyed to Abbas, Channel Two television and Israeli newspapers reported. But when Netanyahu rejected the appeals of the French government, Abbas was swiftly invited, they said.
In his retort on Wednesday, Netanyahu said: "I've yet to hear any world leader condemn the comments by Erdogan, not one.
"He said that Israel should not have been represented in the march in Paris, and the reason he gave, was our actions to defend our citizens against the thousands of rockets hurled at our cities by the terrorists of Hamas," he added.
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