The diplomatic row between Israel and Turkey escalated Tuesday, with officials on both sides trading barbs over Monday's deadly riots on the Israel-Gaza Strip border in which 58 Palestinians were killed and 2,700 wounded, and with diplomats on both sides being recalled or expelled.
On Monday, Turkey recalled its ambassadors from Israel and from the United States, and on Tuesday it expelled the Israeli ambassador and consul general from Turkey. Israel responded by expelling the Turkish consul in Jerusalem.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Israeli military's actions amount to a "massacre" and a "genocide," and are proof that Israel "is a terrorist state."
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim urged Muslim countries to review their ties with Israel.
"Erdogan is among Hamas's biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he understands terrorism and slaughter well. I suggest that he not preach morality to us," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu retorted.
"The man who sends thousands of Turkish soldiers to maintain the occupation of northern Cyprus and invades Syria will not preach to us when we defend ourselves against invasion by Hamas. A man whose hands are drenched in the blood of countless Kurdish civilians in Turkey and Syria is the last one who can preach to us about military ethics," Netanyahu said.
In return, Erdogan accused Netanyahu of "being the prime minister of an apartheid state that has occupied a defenseless people's lands for 60-plus years in violation of U.N. resolutions. He has the blood of Palestinians on his hands and can't cover up crimes by attacking Turkey."
Netanyahu responded by repeating that Erdogan "is the last man who can lecture us and preach to us about combat ethics."
Ankara then expelled Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Eitan Naeh and Israeli Consul General in Istanbul Yossi Levi Sfari. Turkish media aired footage of the ambassador being subjected to a particularly humiliating security check at the airport before being allowed to leave the country.
An official from the Turkish Foreign Ministry stressed that the move was temporary, but gave no timeframe for the potential return of the Israeli diplomats.
In response, Israel ordered the Turkish consul in Jerusalem, Husnu Gurcan Turkoglu, who is responsible for Turkey's relations with the Palestinians, to leave the country.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said he could not recall a precedent in which Israel had kicked out a senior diplomat who deals with the Palestinians.
Still, Israeli officials said that the crisis between Jerusalem and Ankara – the most serious since the deadly 2010 raid on a Turkish vessel trying to breach the maritime blockade on Gaza – was most likely temporary.
On Wednesday, Israeli officials expressed hope that Turkey would tone down its belligerent rhetoric, which they attributed to Erdogan's political troubles at home.
Erdogan has been facing harsh criticism from the Turkish opposition and has been escalating his tone against Israel to counter that criticism ahead of the Turkish parliamentary elections next month.
Also on Tuesday, Ireland and Belgium summoned the Israeli ambassadors to their foreign ministries for questioning about the Gaza violence.
Belgium's Foreign Ministry confirmed that it summoned Israeli Ambassador Simona Frankel over the issue, while Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel called for a U.N. investigation into what he termed the IDF's "unacceptable violence" and "clear lack of proportionality."
Ireland's Foreign Ministry confirmed that Israeli Ambassador Zeev Boker "was summoned by Foreign Minister Simon Coveney to express Ireland's shock and dismay at the level of death and injury yesterday [Monday] on the Gaza Strip" and "has been informed of Irish demands for an independent international investigation into yesterday's deaths led by the U.N."
