Turkey compares Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu to Hitler in tit-for-tat Gaza spat

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in a statement on Israel's war on Gaza on Monday.

“Just as the genocidal Nazis were held accountable, those who seek to destroy the Palestinians will also be held accountable,” the statement read.

The Turkish statement came as part of a series tit-for-tat exchanges between Ankara and Tel Aviv, with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz likening Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Saddam Hussein on Sunday.

“Erdogan is going down the path of Saddam Hussein and threatens to attack Israel. He should just remember what happened there and how that ended,” Katz wrote on X.

Hussein’s regime in Iraq was toppled by a US invasion in 2003, with the Iraqi dictator executed by hanging in 2006.

The initial controversy began when the Erdogan, who has been a fierce critic of Israel's offensive on Gaza, threatened to intervene in Israel to help Palestinians during a speech on Sunday.

“We must be very strong so that Israel can't do these ridiculous things to Palestine. Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we might do similar to them,” Erdogan told a meeting of his ruling AK Party in his hometown of Rize.

“There is no reason why we cannot do this… We must be strong so that we can take these steps,” Erdogan added in the televised address.

Erdogan did not spell out what sort of intervention he was suggesting. However, as referenced by the Turkish president in his speech, in 2020, Turkey sent military personnel to Libya in support of the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord of Libya against the Russian and UAE-backed forces of warlord Khalifa Haftar.

Turkey has in the recent past compared Israeli to the Nazis and Netanyahu to Hitler.

Just last week, the Turkish president called Netanyahu “the Hitler of our time” after the Israeli prime minister spoke got 52 standing ovations during a speech in front of a joint session of the US Congress.

“Those who lecture the world on democracy are not ashamed to crown the Hitler of our time,” Erdoğan said.

“There is no taking responsibility for peace, no effort to increase the hope of humanity. We are witnessing a state of madness where the oppressor is recognized for his cruelty and the rights of the oppressed are ignored.”