Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Dec. 10 described Israel as a “terrorist state.”
Speaking at a ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) congress in the Central Anatolian province of Sivas, Erdoğan blasted the Israeli police’s “disproportionate” force against Palestinian protesters and said Israel is an “oppressive, occupation state.”
His words came after U.S. President Donald Trump on Dec. 6 officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, in a move that reversed decades of U.S. policy of remaining neutral on the holy city.
The decision triggered demonstrations in the Palestinian territories and across the Muslim world.
Two Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip earlier on Dec. 9, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.