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Israel Responds to Turkish Allegations of ‘Apartheid’

Foreign Minister Israel Katz struck back at Turkey after Ankara called the Jewish state a “racist, apartheid regime.” Katz tweeted that, “[President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan’s regime systematically violates human rights, brutally persecutes the Kurds, and supports the terrorists of Hamas. He is the last person who should be preaching morals to Israel.” The comments followed an attack on Israel by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at a special meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to discuss Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s announcement of his intent to annex territories in the West Bank. “If the whole Muslim community had reacted together, the reckless plans, policies and behavior of the United States and Israel would never have reached this point,” Cavusoglu said. Relations between Jerusalem and Ankara have nosedived over the past decade, with Israel accusing Erdogan of harboring Hamas members that have plotted from Turkish soil terrorist attacks on Israelis. For his part, Erdogan has positioned himself of one of the leading proponents of the Palestinian cause and has repeatedly accused Israel of perpetrating massacres in the Gaza Strip.