President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stepped up his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Zionist regime. “Those following in the footsteps of Hitler will end up as all tyrants did throughout history,” he said at an event in Ankara on Thursday.
At the Congress and Culture Center of the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Erdoğan hosted an awards ceremony of the Turkish Red Crescent Society. The president heaped praise on one of the oldest charity organizations of Türkiye and outlined its international aid efforts. As he spoke about the Red Crescent’s efforts to deliver more than 26,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza, Erdoğan also continued his scathing criticism of the Zionist regime of Israel. Erdoğan, who called on the world to stop Israel in a speech on Wednesday, this time called upon the world to hold the Netanyahu administration accountable for the crimes it has committed.
Erdoğan likened the Zionist regime’s attacks across the region to “a shark smelling blood.”
“Eventually, they will pay for their crimes,” he stated.
The president noted that Türkiye both extended its helping hand to those affected by Israel’s attacks and exerted efforts for “this network of murderers to be held accountable.”
“Under its current administration, Israel is nothing but a factory producing instability and chaos, feeding upon blood and tears,” the president stated.
Erdoğan and other Turkish officials often compare the Netanyahu administration to rulers of Nazi Germany, highlighting the irony that a country whose citizens are among Holocaust survivors is now engaged in what Türkiye calls a genocide of Palestinians. Türkiye is a party to an international trial on genocide charges against Israel initiated by South Africa and cut off all ties with Israel after the renewal of Palestinian-Israeli conflict in 2023, shortly after a period where Ankara and Tel Aviv appeared close to rapprochement in their downgraded ties.
Shortly after Erdoğan on Wednesday called on the world to stop Israel’s murderous campaign, Netanyahu took to social media and claimed Israel was morally superior to Türkiye in a sharp retort to Erdoğan.
Türkiye is a fierce critic of Israel and one of the few countries in its region to openly defy the Netanyahu administration's genocidal campaign of expansionism that spread from the Palestinian territories to Lebanon and beyond. For Ankara, Israel is the biggest obstacle to peace in the wider region.
In his speech, Erdoğan also praised the Turkish Red Crescent, which ranked first among similar organizations across the world last year with the amount of aid delivered to the most countries. “This accomplishment is also an indicator of our nation’s generosity and sense of solidarity,” Erdoğan said.
He noted the Red Crescent’s role especially in the aftermath of the Feb. 6, 2023, earthquakes and how it delivered meals, food, thousands of tents and blankets while operating mobile kitchens.
“In Gaza, where the Zionist genocide network led by Netanyahu continues its attacks, our Red Crescent has delivered more than 26,000 tons of humanitarian aid supplies to the region to date. Since Oct. 7, it has contributed to the tables of our Gazan brothers and sisters with 15 million meals. Through its soup kitchen services, it has distributed hot meals to 30,000 people daily. Providing food services to children in Gaza through the Gaza Cheerful Children Project initiated after the cease-fire, the Red Crescent is also simultaneously carrying out psychosocial support activities for children,” Erdoğan said.
