Responding to President Erdogan's Criticism, PM Netanyahu Touches on the Kurdish Genocide and the Imprisonment of Journalists

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Wikimedia Commons: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

JAKARTA - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan should be the last to lecture his country, touching on the genocide against Kurds and the imprisonment of journalists, in response to the Turkish leader's comments.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's actions no different from those of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, likening Israel's attack on Gaza to the Nazis' treatment of the Jewish people.

"(President) Erdogan, who committed genocide against the Kurds, holds the world record for imprisoning journalists who opposed his government," PM Netanyahu said in a statement, reported by Reuters, December 27.

"(He) is the last person who can teach us morality," he continued.

"The IDF is the most moral army in the world, which fought and eliminated the most vile and brutal organization in the world, Hamas, which committed crimes against humanity and Erdogan praised it and hosted its senior officials," criticized PM Netanyahu, quoted by The Guardian.

Meanwhile, Israeli President Isaac Herzog in his post on social media X condemned President Erodgan's comments and described them as very offensive towards the Jewish people.

"I strongly condemn and completely reject the words of Turkish President Erdogan. Throughout human history, the Holocaust stands alone in its horror and enormity, and his words deeply offend every Jew around the world, as well as the memory of the millions of Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis ," he wrote.

President Erdogan is known to have strongly criticized Israel regarding their actions in Palestine, fought for Palestinian independence and called for a two-state solution to the ongoing conflict. Turkey itself was on the verge of normalizing relations with Turkey, before a new conflict broke out in Gaza following the October 7 attack in southern Israel.

Despite its criticism of Israel, Turkey has maintained commercial ties, drawing strong reactions from opposition parties and Iran.