Erdoğan vows to pursue accountability for Israel’s military actions

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on June 11 pledged to pursue accountability for Israel over its military actions in the Palestinian territories and across the region.

“Those who attack our geography like sharks that have smelled blood will eventually be held accountable for the blood they spill. The heaven-shaking cries of the oppressed will sooner or later catch up with the oppressors,” Erdoğan said at an event in Ankara.

Erdoğan also sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, describing the Israeli administration as “a factory of sedition whose raw materials are blood, tears, instability, and chaos.”

During his remarks, Erdoğan highlighted humanitarian assistance delivered by the Turkish Red Crescent to Gaza, saying aid shipments had surpassed 26,000 tons despite continuing Israeli attacks.

The comments came a day after Erdoğan escalated criticism of Israel during his party’s weekly meeting in parliament, where he said Israel had threatened regional peace and security since its establishment.

“The occupation of Palestine and the genocide against Palestinians continue systematically,” Erdoğan said, adding that attacks carried out by Netanyahu’s government in Syria and Lebanon had “now reached a point where they threaten Türkiye as well.”

Netanyahu responded shortly afterward in a message on X, accusing Erdoğan of anti-Semitism and criticizing Türkiye’s domestic and foreign policies.

His statement prompted strong reactions in Türkiye, particularly from Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Foreign Ministry.