Turkey’s FM accuses Israel of using security ‘as an excuse to occupy more land’

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday accused Israel of using security concerns to seize new territory, in the latest strongly worded comments by Ankara against Jerusalem.

“Security is being used by the Netanyahu government as an excuse to occupy more land,” Fidan said, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government at the closing of a three-day diplomacy forum in the southern Antalya province.

“This is a fundamentalist government. They are a problem for the whole world. This is not just a problem for Turkey,” Fidan said.

Turkey’s top diplomat also accused Israel of seeking to create facts on the ground in Lebanon, despite an agreed ceasefire, denouncing what he said was “Israeli expansionism.”

The 10-day ceasefire that began halted more than six weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese terror group backed by Iran, after the latter launched attacks during the war with the Islamic Republic.

Netanyahu has framed it as a strategic opening for both diplomacy with Beirut and continued military pressure, while Iran has linked the ceasefire in Lebanon to its own shaky, temporary ceasefire with the US, which paused the war that began with joint US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic.

“The ongoing Iran–United States negotiations seem to be overshadowing this situation [in Lebanon]. Israel appears to be trying to take advantage of this distraction to create a fait accompli,” Fidan also said.

Fidan said stopping this threat is clearly on the international community’s agenda. He also described the defense agreements signed between Israel, Greece, and Cyprus in December last year as a “military alliance against the Muslim countries in the region.”

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been one of the most harshly critical foreign leaders of Israel, accusing Jerusalem of genocide and war crimes, praising ICC arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, and calling on the UN to recommend the use of force against Israel.

The longtime Turkish leader has also often expressed support for Hamas as defenders of their homeland, including after the terrorist organization’s October 7 massacre, in which it killed some 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages.

Earlier this month, Israeli leaders lashed Erdogan after prosecutors in Turkey reportedly filed indictments against 35 top officials, including Netanyahu, seeking a total of more than 4,500 years in prison.

Netanyahu accused Erdogan of massacring Kurds in his own country, while Defense Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also responded with posts bashing Erdogan.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry then replied to Netanyahu with a statement, calling the Israeli premier “the Hitler of our time.”

Turkey recently joined diplomatic efforts with Egypt and Pakistan to reach a ceasefire in the conflict with Iran.

In January, Trump included Fidan in his Board of Peace’s Gaza Executive Board. Following the White House announcement, Netanyahu came under fire from across the Israeli political spectrum for being unable to prevent Turkey from gaining a foothold in Gaza through the new panel.