The United States on Tuesday harshly condemned recent comments by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against Israel.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Erdogan lambasted Israel's counterterrorism operation in Gaza, accusing it of "terrorism" against the Palestinians. "It is in their nature," he said, in an apparent reference to the Jewish people.
"They are murderers, to the point that they kill children who are five or six years old. They only are satisfied by sucking their blood," he said.
Erdogan on Monday also said that US President Joe Biden had "bloody hands" because of his support of Israel's right to self-defense opposite Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
"Palestine territories are awash with persecution, suffering and blood, like many other territories that lost the peace with the end of the Ottomans. And you are supporting that," Erdogan said in a message to Biden.
A statement by the State Department said the United States "strongly condemns President Erdogan's recent antisemitic comments regarding the Jewish people and finds them reprehensible.
"We urge President Erdogan and other Turkish leaders to refrain from incendiary remarks, which could incite further violence. We call on Turkey to join the United States in working to end the conflict," the statement continued.
"Antisemitic language has no place anywhere. The United States is deeply committed to combatting antisemitism in all of its forms. We take seriously the violence that often accompanies anti-Semitism and the dangerous lies that undergird it.
"We must always counter lies with facts and answer crimes of hate with justice."
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
