Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz launched a new fierce attack against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan , accusing him of continuing to “roll out the red carpet for Hamas murderers and rapists.”
In a post on social media, the Israeli minister claimed that Ankara supports “the terrorist activities” allegedly organized by the Palestinian organization from Turkish territory, “against Israel and important Muslim countries in the region.”
This last formulation has its own significance. The reference not only to Israel but also to Muslim countries in the region is an attempt to present the Turkish position as a problem broader than the bilateral confrontation, which also concerns other Middle Eastern states.
In the same post, Katz emphasized that Israel has eliminated Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip , targeting the head of the organization’s political bureau, Khalil al-Hayya .
“Al-Hayya’s turn will come and he will be sent to meet Haniyeh and his comrades in the depths of hell,” he said, referring to Ismail Haniyeh , his predecessor in the leadership of the politburo.
The statement is, in essence, an open announcement of targeting , a practice that Israel has repeatedly followed during the conflict. It comes at a time when relations between Jerusalem and Ankara are at their lowest point in decades, with the Turkish leadership adopting the most aggressive rhetoric against Israel among NATO countries.
Katz’s new position also comes a few days after the harsh attack launched against Turkey by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the podium of the UN General Assembly, a fact that shows that this is a coordinated line of the Israeli government and not an isolated statement.
