Despite the resumption of diplomatic relations between Jerusalem and Ankara, Erdogan continues to compare Israelis to Nazis.
Israeli journalist Ilana Dayan, in an interview with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Channel 2, asked the Turkish president about his statement in July that Israel was “more barbaric than Hitler.” The statement was in reference to Israel’s war with Hamas in the summer of 2014, when the IDF was defending Israelis throughout the country from rockets launched continually by the terrorist group in Gaza.
“I don’t agree with what Hitler did, and I don’t agree with what Israel did in Gaza,” Erdogan responded.
There is no reason to compare who is “more barbaric,” he continued, saying that the Israelis “know how to kill people.”
Erdogan said that he meets with Hamas “all the time,” claiming that it is not a terrorist organization, but a “political movement born from national resurrection.”
In September, Israel and Turkey resumed diplomatic relations after a six-year rift, following following the Mavi Marmara incident.
The Mavi Marmara was part of a flotilla of Turkish vessels traveling to Gaza in 2010, ostensibly to deliver humanitarian aid and medical supplies. In fact, it was an attempt to defy Israeli sovereignty and to support Hamas.
IDF forces boarded the ship and were viciously assaulted. They killed 10 Turkish nationals while defending themselves, and several IDF soldiers suffered wounds as well.
