Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar condemned Turkey’s foreign minister for what he labeled a “clear call for genocide” against the Jewish people, according to a statement on Monday.
The response came after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan appeared on CNN Türk on July 2. In the interview, he said, "These people have become a burden that humanity can no longer bear," in reference to the Jewish State.
Sa’ar’s comments were made during a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Rwanda, Olivier Nduhungirehe, in Jerusalem on Monday.
Though they first met in private, the two ministers subsequently issued a joint statement to the media, in which Sa’ar called out Fidan.
“The Jewish people know very well what happens when such words are allowed to go unchallenged,” he said. “The first step on the road to genocide is dehumanization.”
Sa'ar responded to Fidan's claims before amidst tension with Turkey
This is not the first time that Sa’ar has responded to Fidan’s alleged calls for Jewish genocide.
On July 2, Sa’ar took to his X/Twitter with similar wording, labeling Fidan’s TV interview as a “textbook incitement to genocide” reminiscent of “history’s worst eliminationist regimes.” He added that "the civilized world and Turkey's NATO allies must unequivocally condemn this explicit call for the erasure of Israel.”
This comes as tensions between Israel and Turkey have been escalating, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning the US not to provide F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. He also cited Turkey's support for Hamas and the "Muslim Brotherhood" present in the country.