Turkish-Israeli ties worse than ever
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s irritation over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's presence at the Paris rally has contributed to rekindled tensions between Turkey and Israel.
The Paris attacks are having a serious fallout on Turkish-Israeli relations, and neither side is holding back from freely expressing acerbic sentiment about the other.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan kicked off the latest angry exchange when he questioned how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dared to attend the Paris rally Jan.11, which was organized to condemn terrorism as well support freedom of expression.
Erdogan was responding to a question during a news conference in Ankara with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who had traveled to Turkey for talks immediately after attending the Paris rally himself. “You asked me what I think about seeing Netanyahu. Now I ask you: How do you feel about a person that massacred 2,500 people in Gaza waving his hand there, as if people were expecting him with anticipation? I wonder how he had the gall to go there,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan’s remarks suggest that he was also under the influence of media reports that France initially did not want Netanyahu to come to Paris, but had to invite him after the Israeli leader made it clear he would attend the rally anyway.
