Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office fired back at Turkey on Friday after Erdogan's government issued an i...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office fired back at Turkey on Friday after Erdogan's government issued an international arrest warrant for Netanyahu, calling the Turkish president an "antisemitic dictator who has slaughtered Kurds, hosts Hamas terrorists, occupies half of Cyprus, and imprisons a record number of journalists and political opponents." The statement came hours after Turkey issued the warrant in connection with Israel's interception of an activist flotilla headed for Gaza. Netanyahu's office made clear Israel has no intention of backing down, saying Erdogan's "pathetic attempt to intimidate the leadership and soldiers of Israel, the only real democracy in the Middle East, will go nowhere." The confrontation also follows Israel's confirmed strike on a Syrian air base, which Israel justified by citing concerns about a potential Turkish military deployment in the area. Netanyahu's office accused Erdogan of seeking to "extend his aggression against Israel into Syria," adding that Israel "will not tolerate it." In a separate statement in Hebrew, Netanyahu's office said Israel "will continue to act decisively against Turkey's attempts to destabilize the region and against any threat to its security." Relations between the two countries, once close allies, have collapsed since the start of the war in Gaza. The Cyprus reference in Netanyahu's statement is notable. Israel publicly using Erdogan's occupation of northern Cyprus as a charge in a diplomatic broadside is a rare instance of a non-EU government formally echoing what Greece and Cyprus have long argued on the world stage. #Netanyahu #Erdogan #Turkey