Israel announced on Saturday that it was recalling its diplomats in Turkey for consultations in protest of "grave" statements from Turkish government officials concerning the Israel-Hamas war.
“Given the grave statements coming from Turkey, I have ordered the return of diplomatic representatives there in order to conduct a reevaluation of the relations between Israel and Turkey,” Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen wrote on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Given the grave statements coming from Turkey, I have ordered the return of diplomatic representatives there in order to conduct a reevaluation of the relations between Israel and Turkey.
— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) October 28, 2023
Speaking at a pro-Palestine rally in Istanbul earlier Saturday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel a "war criminal" over its attacks on the Gaza Strip, reiterating that his country doesn’t consider Hamas a terror organization.