NNA – Israel said Saturday it was recalling its diplomatic staff from Turkey after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a fierce attack on its military operation against Hamas militants in Gaza.
The announcement dealt a body blow to the sides#39; nascent efforts to restorenbsp;politicalnbsp;and economic relations after a decade of all but frozen ties.
Israelnbsp;andnbsp;Turkeynbsp;ndash; an overwhelminglynbsp;Muslimnation that forms the bulwark ofnbsp;NATOdefences on the edge of thenbsp;Middle Eastnbsp;ndash; had only just agreed tonbsp;reappoint ambassadors last year.
They were also resuming discussions on a US-backed natural gas pipeline project that could have formed the basis for much closer and more lasting cooperation in the coming years.
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But their relations unravelled asnbsp;Erdogannbsp;began to pick up the pace and venom of his attacks onnbsp;Israel#39;s retaliatory military operation against Hamasnbsp;in thenbsp;Gaza Strip.
Hamasnbsp;militants staged a surprise attack on October 7 during which they killed 1,400 peoplenbsp;ndash; mostly civiliansnbsp;ndash; and seized more than 220 hostages.
The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza has said Israeli strikes have killed 7,703 peoplenbsp;ndash; also mainly civiliansnbsp;ndash; with more than 3,500 of them children.
Erdogan#39;s Islamic-rooted party staged a massive rally in Istanbul on Saturday that the president said drew a crowd of 1.5 million people.
quot;Israel, you are an occupier,quot; he told the Turkish and Palestinian-flag waving sea of supporters.
He accused the Israel government of behaving like a quot;war criminalquot; and trying to quot;eradicatequot; Palestinians.
quot;Of course, every country has the right to defend itself. But where is the justice in this case? There is no justicenbsp;ndash; just a vicious massacre happening in Gaza.quot;
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen recalled all diplomatic staff from Turkey moments after Erdogan finished his remarks.
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,quot; he said in a statement.
#39;Crusade#39;
Israel had already ordered diplomatic staff out of Turkey and several other regional countries as a security precaution earlier this month.
A Turkish diplomatic source said all Israeli diplomats had left the country by October 19.
quot;It is difficult to understand whom Cohen had instructed to return,quot; the Turkish diplomatic source said.
But Cohen#39;s statement adds a new diplomatic dimension to the withdrawal.
It follows Erdogan#39;s own announcement earlier this week that he was cancelling plans to visit Israel because of its quot;inhumanequot; war.
The sides#39; diplomatic relations are now in danger of falling to the lows they experienced when an Israeli raid on a Turkish ship carrying aid into Gaza killed 10 civilians in 2010.
Erdogan has been a leading international supporter of Palestinian rights during his two-decade rule.
He told Saturday#39;s rally that Israel was quot;a pawn in the regionquot; that was being used by Western powers to stamp their authority on the Middle East.
quot;The main culprit behind the massacre unfolding in Gaza is the West,quot; Erdogan declared.
And he accused Israel#39;s allies of creating a quot;crusade war atmospherequot; pitting Christians against Muslims.
quot;Listen to our call for dialogue,quot; Erdogan said. quot;No one loses from a just peace.quot;
Erdogan#39;s address came in response to days of pro-Palestinian protests in Istanbul and other major cities organised by Turkey#39;s more right-wing and Islamic conservative groups.
But one poll released this week showed the majority of respondents preferring to see Turkey remain either neutral or try to play a mediating role in the war.
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The Metropoll survey showed 11.3 percent of the respondents saying they quot;back Hamasquot;.
But 34.5 percent said Turkey should stay quot;neutralquot; and 26.4 percent said it should mediate.
Just 3.0 percent said they quot;support Israelquot;. —nbsp;AFP