The latest spat between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continued Sunday, with Netanyahu accusing Erdogan of being an "anti-Semitic dictator."
Speaking in Istanbul Sunday, Erdogan called Netanyahu an oppressor who commits "state terror." It was not immediately clear what sparked the latest spat between the leaders, which came just days after the U.S. announced its withdrawal from Syria.
The U.S. decision followed a Dec. 14 phone call between Trump and Erdogan, in which Erdogan reportedly convinced Trump to withdraw U.S. forces and transfer the responsibility of combating insurgents in Syria to Turkey.
Many in Israel and elsewhere were caught off-guard by the U.S. announcement, with some saying that an American withdrawal would put Israel at a disadvantage in Syria. Others, however, said the move would not change anything for Israel.
Speaking with Christian IDF soldiers in Tel Aviv on Sunday, Netanyahu said the Turkish leader is "obsessed with Israel" and that his military "slaughters women and children in Kurdish villages."
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu claimed in response that Netanyahu was a "cold-blooded murderer and responsible for the slaughter of thousands of Palestinian children."
Israel and Turkey were once close allies, but relations between the countries have steadily cooled since Erdogan, whose party has roots in Turkey's Islamist movement, became prime minister in 2003.
The erosion in relations hit an all-time low in 2010, when Israeli naval commandos raided a Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, that was trying to breach the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip. A violent clash on the boat resulted in the deaths of 10 activists and prompted Turkey to recall its ambassador and scale back military and economic cooperation with Israel.
Bilateral ties were restored in the summer of 2016, when the Knesset voted to compensate the families of those killed. However, Erdogan has continued to maintain a steady stream of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric aimed at his Islamist base and at Islamist supporters in the region, especially Iran.
