“We take it very seriously”: Netanyahu says he will raise Erdogan’s anti-Israel rhetoric with Washington

Tel Aviv : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asserted that his administration views Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rhetoric against Israel “very seriously” and intends to take up the matter with the United States.

According to a report by The Times of Israel, Netanyahu emphasised the gravity of the regular threats emanating from Ankara, noting that Israel cannot afford to overlook such explicit hostility.

Addressing a cabinet session on Sunday, Netanyahu stated, “Hardly a day goes by without Erdogan calling for the destruction of the State of Israel. We take those words very seriously, because if there is one thing we have learned from the history of our people, it is that when someone says they intend to destroy you, you should take them seriously.”

The Israeli Prime Minister further noted that Tel Aviv would engage Washington on the issue, saying, “We will also draw the attention of our American friends to these remarks. We are not ignoring them.”

The latest friction comes amid a sharp escalation in tensions between Israel and Turkey since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict, which was triggered by the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, assault. Erdogan has positioned himself as one of Israel’s fiercest detractors on the global stage, routinely levelling accusations of genocide in Gaza and throwing his weight behind international legal proceedings targeting the Israeli leadership.