Turkey says Israel is 'problem for the entire world'; Sa’ar calls it 'genocide incitement'

Turkey says Israel is 'problem for the entire world'; Sa’ar calls it 'genocide incitement'

ynet

"Israel has become a problem for the entire international community,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in a sharp attack Thursday evening in an interview with CNN Türk.

"We have no intention of backing down from our position. Israel is not only a problem for Turkey, it has 

become a problem for the entire world. Israeli authorities have become a burden humanity can no longer 

bear,” he said.

Fidan said Turkey was the first country to halt trade with Israel over its aggression in the Gaza Strip. “Our 

president stopped $10 billion in trade with Israel overnight. It is important to take a firm position and start 

doing something,” he said.

“Anti-Israel sentiment has emerged around the world, from university campuses to newspapers and 

intellectual platforms, because they are openly carrying out massacres,” he said. “They are openly 

playing a destabilizing role everywhere. In the past, they could hide this with a few simple media 

maneuvers. Now they can no longer hide it. Israel is now looking for a new enemy to change its 

destructive and shameful image in the world.”

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called Fidan’s remarks “sickening” and said they amounted to 

“clear incitement to genocide.”

“The dehumanization of the Jewish people and portraying them as an ‘intolerable burden’ is the classic 

language of the greatest oppressors in history,” Sa’ar said. “The enlightened world and Turkey’s NATO 

allies must unequivocally condemn this explicit call for Israel’s destruction.”

The Turkish foreign minister’s remarks add to the harsh criticism Turkey has directed at Israel since 

October 7. This week, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded to Israel’s historic recognition of the 

Armenian genocide, saying: “We do not take even slightly seriously the slanders against our country by 

a murder network whose hands are stained with the blood of 75,000 innocent Gazans, most of them 

women and children.”

The Turkish president added that those who malign Turkey and the Turkish people in an effort to 

obscure what he called their barbarity in Gaza would know this if they examined their own history.

On Sunday, Israel’s government unanimously approved Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s 

proposal to recognize the Armenian genocide.

Sa’ar blasts Turkish FM who described Israel as a 'burden to humanity'

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Thursday blasted Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, 

after Fidan launched an anti-Israel tirade during an interview with CNN Turk.

The Turkish top diplomat had said in the interview, “Israel is not just Turkey’s problem, nor is it 

solely President Erdogan's issue. The only difference is that President Erdogan is the one openly 

saying that what is wrong is wrong. That is a separate matter, and it is something humanity itself 

should reflect on." 

He then claimed, “But everyone knows it and feels it. People whisper it behind closed doors, and 

from time to time they say it openly. This is a problem for all of humanity. That's what we should 

call it."

Fidan continued, “These people have become a burden that humanity can no longer bear. With these 

policies and this mindset, humanity cannot carry this burden. The human conscience cannot bear it. 

Political systems cannot sustain it, and economic systems cannot sustain it. No matter which 

framework you use, there is no parameter under which these people can be sustained."

“If you expect me to solve your problem on your behalf all by myself, then everyone must step up, 

take a diplomatic stance, and impose the necessary sanctions on those people," the Turkish Foreign 

Minister said.

Fidan also claimed that “Israel is currently searching for a new enemy" and added, “As long as 

Israel - or any other actor - acts in ways that conflict with our national and regional interests, we 

have no reason to fear anyone, hesitate, or back down."

He further hinted that Turkey would not hesitate to fight Israel as he stated, “We have no problem 

with confrontation. If it comes to that, it is not an issue for us."

Responding to Fidan’s rant, Sa’ar said, “Turkish FM Hakan Fidan’s sickening words are textbook 

incitement to genocide." 

“Dehumanizing the Jewish people as an ‘unbearable burden’ is the classic, horrific language of 

history’s worst eliminationist regimes," the Foreign Minister added. 

“The civilized world and Turkey's NATO allies must unequivocally condemn this explicit call for 

the erasure of Israel," concluded Sa’ar.

Fidan’s remarks are the latest in a series of verbal attacks by Turkish officials against Israel. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month threatened attacks on Israel, claiming that Israeli strikes 

in Syria and Lebanon have reached a point where they also threaten his country.

Several days earlier, Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi declared that Turkey will one day 

reclaim control over Jerusalem.

Turkey and Israel were close to reconciliation just before the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, 

but since that time, Turkish officials, and foremost Erdogan, have repeatedly criticized Israel.

In March of last year, Erdogan blasted Israel and described it as a "terror state" after it launched 

surprise strikes on terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip.