‘Snake will remain a snake’: Israeli Ambassador to UN on Erdogan’s Gaza remarks

Condemning remarks made by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan said, “A snake will remain a snake”.

He also accused Erdogan of “remaining an antisemite”. Erdan’s remarks came after Erdogan addressed a pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul, one of the largest since the Israel-Hamas war began.

At the rally, Erdogan called Israel a “war criminal” and an “occupier”. In an hour-long speech, Erdogan also reiterated that Hamas was not a terrorist organisation, while also criticising some Western nations’ “unconditional support” for Israel.

“We will tell the whole world that Israel is a war criminal. We are making preparations for this. We will declare Israel a war criminal,” he said.

“Israel has been openly committing war crimes for 22 days, but the Western leaders cannot even call on Israel for a ceasefire, let alone react to it,” Erdogan told the crowd in Istanbul, who waved Palestinian flags.

Amid Erdogan’s support to Hamas as “freedom fighters”, condemning Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip, Israel has decided to recall its diplomats from Turkey.

Eli Cohen, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a tweet said, “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.”