"Provocative steps"

Erdogan: Netanyahu responsible for tensions

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sharply criticized Israel's head of government Benjamin Netanyahu.

(Bild: AP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the tensions in the Middle East. He even compared him to Hitler, saying he was responsible for the deaths of thousands of children.

Erdogan had already compared Israel's head of government to Adolf Hitler in the past. Netanyahu is endangering his own countrymen and the people of the entire region in order to ensure his political survival, he said. The suspected attack by Israel on the Iranian embassy compound had been the straw that broke the camel's back.

The Turkish president also accused the West of double standards. Only a few countries had condemned the attack on the Iranian embassy compound, while the attack on Israel by the Iranian armed forces had immediately caused international outrage.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

(Bild: AP)

The Iranian military attacked Israel on Sunday night with more than 300 drones and missiles, almost all of which were intercepted. It is still unclear how Israel's government will react. According to Iran, it was a retaliatory attack for the death of two generals from the influential Revolutionary Guards.

Deteriorating relations with Israel
Since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip, relations between the Israeli and Turkish governments have deteriorated massively. Erdogan has repeatedly accused Netanyahu of committing a "massacre".

Erdogan will receive Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh next weekend. According to him, the Palestinian organization is not a terrorist organization - as classified by the EU and the USA - but a liberation movement. It was not initially known when exactly the meeting would take place.