Türkiye’s opposition to the Israeli administration over its genocidal policies toward Palestinians is well-known. The issue, which unites people from all over the political spectrum, was on Türkiye’s agenda again after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister, Israel Katz, took to social media to insult President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Remarks by both politicians who led Israel’s campaign of genocide, which has killed tens of thousands of people since 2023, mobilized the government and opposition politicians from Ekrem Imamoğlu to Mansur Yavaş, who were tagged in a post by Katz.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Saturday slammed Netanyahu for remarks targeting Erdoğan, saying targeting the Turkish leader is a result of "the discomfort caused by the truths we have expressed on every platform." Netanyahu, who is called the Adolf Hitler of this era due to his crimes, is known for his records, said the ministry in a statement.
Noting the arrest warrant that has been issued for Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the statement warned about Netanyahu's attempts, which aim to undermine the ongoing peace talks and continue his expansionist policies in the region. The statement further reiterated Türkiye's determination in its efforts to hold Netanyahu accountable for his crimes, along with supporting innocent civilians.
On Friday, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that it completed an indictment against Netanyahu and 34 other officials, accusing them of crimes including genocide, crimes against humanity and torture over a raid on the Gaza-bound Sumud aid flotilla. Prosecutors named Netanyahu and other senior political and military figures as suspects for committing genocide, crimes against humanity, torture, looting and unlawful detention. The case, initiated during the tenure of Justice Minister Akın Gürlek as Istanbul chief prosecutor, has now moved into the judicial phase following the acceptance of the indictment. According to the prosecution, the operation against the Sumud Flotilla was not an isolated action but a “planned, organized and joint act” carried out at the highest levels of the Israeli state. Prosecutors said the acts were systematic, pointing to injuries including fractures and concluding that the treatment amounted to torture under Turkish law.
The indictment also details the seizure of humanitarian aid supplies and personal belongings, which were allegedly taken by force by Israel and not returned, forming the basis for aggravated looting charges. Damage to ship equipment was also cited. Crucially, prosecutors linked the flotilla raid to broader genocide in Gaza, arguing it forms part of a wider pattern of actions targeting civilians, including deprivation of basic needs and forced displacement.
After the indictment was revealed, Israeli Defense Minister Katz took to Twitter and released a social media post accusing Erdoğan of “conducting sham trials against Israel’s political and military leadership.” Katz warned Erdoğan “to sit quietly and stay silent” in the post where he tagged Ekrem Imamoğlu, former mayor of Istanbul, and Mansur Yavaş, mayor of Ankara, two influential figures in the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), as well as Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, former chair of CHP. One day after Katz’s post, Netanyahu himself issued a similar statement against Erdoğan.
Following Israeli officials’ insulting remarks, condemnation messages poured in from members of the presidential Cabinet.
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said that, "The light of truth is the nightmare of the oppressors," adding that Netanyahu's remarks targeting Erdoğan are a reflection of his discomfort with the exposure of the truth and a manifestation of a "sense of guilt," and are "null and void."
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said Netanyahu's remarks, coming from a person subject to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, "demonstrate the depth of the legal and moral impasse" he faces. Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said Netanyahu, whom he described as responsible for attacks on civilians in the Gaza Strip, made "baseless" accusations that reflect "desperation and political exhaustion."
Ömer Çelik, spokesperson for Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), said Israeli officials’ remarks were “immoral” and said he believed that both the government and opposition would demonstrate a joint stance in the face of this “network of murderers.” Çelik said Erdoğan led an international camp of “humanity alliance” against Netanyahu and his network of murderers. Çelik named Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as another member of humanity alliance in his remarks posted on social media on Sunday.
“This genocide network’s angry statements are an admission of the great defeat they suffered in the hands of Türkiye’s fact-based peace diplomacy,” Çelik argued.
Pointing out that there are five main layers behind these insolent and aggressive messages, Çelik continued: “First, they aim to sabotage the critical peace talks in Pakistan (to end the U.S.-Israel-Iran war). That is why they are attacking our president, who is the strongest supporter of peace. Second, it reflects the collapse of the lie that Israel is the ‘bastion of Western values.’ No Western leader can claim that this genocide represents their values. The third layer is the attempt to turn our Kurdish brothers in the region into ‘mercenaries’ for their dirty and Zionist plans. However, our Kurdish brothers in Iraq and Iran have not entered into this diabolical equation, and instead, they have acted with common sense and stood on the right side of history. Netanyahu’s disgusting remarks directed at our Kurdish brothers in Türkiye are in fact a delusion stemming from the failure of this plan,” he said.
In his tweet, Netanyahu has claimed Türkiye “massacred Kurds” in a reference to Türkiye’s counterterrorism operations against the terrorist group PKK, which brainwashed Kurds to join its so-called cause of establishing a self-styled Kurdish state in southeastern Türkiye.
“The fourth layer is Netanyahu’s own admission that our goals of a ‘terror-free Türkiye’ and a ‘terror-free region’ constitute a major blow to Israel’s plans for chaos,” Çelik said, referring to the initiative for disarmament of PKK which announced it began own dissolution last year. “The fifth layer is the attempt to pit Türkiye against Iran. Through the resolute leadership of our president, Türkiye has effectively demonstrated that it will never be part of this war and that its sole will is peace, thereby thwarting this Zionist plan,” Çelik concluded.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, rarely a social media user, also responded to Katz’s remarks in a post, saying, “An official of a foreign country cannot overstep its boundaries to attempt the national will, domestic politics of Türkiye.”
“We are aware of provocations to pit Türkiye against its neighbors, but lest you forget, Türkiye cannot be delivered ultimatums,” Kılıçdaroğlu wrote.
Mansur Yavaş, for his part, said in a statement on Saturday that those “speaking while they commit genocide” had “no right to teach lessons to others.”
“You are the last person with the right to speak because you are a member of an administration killing children, women, and civilians in Gaza. You cannot dare wagging fingers at Türkiye, the Türkiye nation. You should first answer for the war crimes you committed. The history and people’s conscience will hold you accountable as perpetrators of a genocide,” he wrote.
Imamoğlu, who remains jailed on charges of corruption, also hit out at Katz as he quoted Katz’s earlier remarks about “dictatorship in Türkiye.”
“A person with the blood of tens of thousands of people in his hands cannot teach us democracy and laws,” Imamoğlu wrote in a social media post published on the social media through his defense team.
