PM hits back at Erdogan over Hitler comparison; Gantz slams ‘desecration of the Holocaust’s memory’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claps back at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for claiming Israel’s actions against Hamas terrorists in Gaza are “no different” from those of Nazi German leader Adolf Hitler.

“Erdogan, who is carrying out a genocide of Kurds and holds a world record number of journalists opposed to his rule in jail, is the last to preach morality to us,” Netanyahu says in a statement, repeating a phrase he used in previous spats with Turkey’s leader.

“The IDF is the most moral army in the world, which is fighting and eliminating the most despicable and brutal terror organization in the world, Hamas-Daesh, which committed crimes against humanity and Erdogan praises it and hosts its senior officials,” the premier adds.

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz also slams Erdogan, saying his remarks “are blatant distortions of reality and a desecration of the Holocaust’s memory.”

“Hamas was the organization that perpetrated a despicable massacre. Removing the threat of Hamas from the citizens of Israel is an existential necessity and an unparalleled moral imperative,” Gantz says in a statement issued in both Hebrew and English.

I condemn the statements made by Turkish President Erdogan.

Statements that are blatant distortions of reality and a desecration of the Holocaust’s memory.

Hamas was the organisation that perpetrated a despicable massacre. Removing the threat of Hamas from the citizens of…

— בני גנץ – Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) December 27, 2023