Turkey Condemns Israel’s Rebuke of Erdoğan Over Gaza Remarks

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s criticism of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on November 11 after his address to the COP31 leaders’ summit in Antalya, Turkey. The ministry’s statement answered an earlier Israeli Foreign Ministry response accusing Erdoğan of using the international forum to spread anti-Israel lies. The Turkish ministry described Israel’s criticism as slander and accused Israeli officials of trying to conceal the truth. Defending Erdoğan’s remarks, it said, “Türkiye will continue to stand with the Palestinian people…” The statement reaffirmed Turkey’s support for Palestinians and people it described as suffering from Israeli policies. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Hamas was responsible for Gaza’s devastation and noted that the terrorist organization’s leaders were hosted in Turkey. It said Hamas had started the war with the October 7 massacre, rejecting Erdoğan’s account of responsibility for the destruction in Gaza. In his summit address earlier that day, Erdoğan alleged that Israel had committed genocide and caused environmental destruction in Gaza. He referred to cut olive trees, polluted soil and water, and damaged cities. Erdoğan also alleged that Turkey was being prevented from sending container shelters and demanded that humanitarian aid be allowed through immediately.