Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called for the destruction of Israel during an Eid al-Fitr prayer speech at Istanbul’s Grand Camlica Mosque on Sunday.
In his speech, Erdoğan declared: “We see what is happening in Palestine. May Allah destroy Zionist Israel in his holy name. We must see what is happening there, and therefore, we must unite, be strong, and be brothers here. May Allah always strengthen our unity.”
He also praised Palestinian fighters and offered prayers for those killed or wounded in the conflict.
Earlier that day, Erdoğan released a nationwide holiday message calling Israel’s actions in Gaza “genocide.” His remarks followed the renewed conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, following the collapse of the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar criticized Erdogan’s recent pronouncements.
“Dictator Erdoğan has revealed his anti-Semitic face. As is clearly seen these days, Erdoğan is dangerous both for the region and for his own people. We hope that the countries in the NATO alliance will understand this – and hopefully sooner rather than later,” he said in a post on X.
The speech comes amid widespread protests in Turkey against Erdogan’s government over the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
