By Yasin Gungor and Esra Tekin
ISTANBUL (AA) — Türkiye on Friday denounced Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz’s remarks about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"Those who massacre innocent children and civilians in occupied Gaza are not allowed to mention Türkiye [and] the name of our President or the concept of freedom and democracy," Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said in a statement on X.
Happier days will come when Palestine is free and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is held accountable.
In a separate statement, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan slammed Katz, calling his remarks "a complete form of illness."
“Israel Katz’s continuous use of our country and our President as subjects for his own delusions, instead of focusing on his role as Foreign Minister, is a complete form of illness,” Fidan said on X.
“This individual, whose presence in the cabinet is nothing but an obsession with spreading slander and lies, is the embodiment of the insolence and shamelessness of the genocidal Netanyahu government,” he further stated.
Separately, Türkiye's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun on Friday also criticized Israel's foreign minister for comments directed at President Erdogan.
"The more you take Recep Tayyip Erdogan's name in your dirty mouth where you suck the blood of innocents, the more decisively we will continue to support and stand behind him," he said.
Altun describes Katz as a "bloody genocidal murderer," insisting: "There is nothing our President or our country can learn from bloody genocidal murderers like you."
He promised that Katz and Israel's genocidal acts would one day be held accountable.
Akif Cagatay Kilic, Erdogan's foreign policy advisor, said: "You are the dirty face of a murderous government. It is not your place to mention the name of Recep Tayyip Erdogan." He noted their "barbarism and genocide" will be the end of Israel.
- Istanbul mayor slams Israeli minister
Meanwhile, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu slammed Katz for his comments about President Erdogan.
“I am returning this statement to you exactly as it is, which insults the flag of the Republic of Türkiye and the President,” Imamoglu said.
Democracy and law would not be taught by “people who have the blood of thousands of children on their hands," he asserted.
He added that everything will be “very beautiful when Palestine is free.”
Katz in a post on social media targeted Erdogan, tagging Imamoglu with the caption "Let's hope for better days."