Tensions flared within NATO as Turkey’s Erdogan accused Israel of “genocide” and Germany fired back, defending Israel’s right to self-defense and blaming Hamas for Gaza’s devastation.
A fierce diplomatic confrontation erupted Thursday between two key NATO allies as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at Germany over its unwavering support for Israel’s counterterrorism campaign in Gaza, accusing Berlin of ignoring what he outrageously termed “genocide,” Reuters reported.
The clash unfolded during a tense joint press conference in Ankara with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, marking Merz’s first official visit to Turkey since assuming office.
Erdogan, who has repeatedly sided with Hamas and publicly attacked Israel since the October 7, 2023 massacre, escalated his rhetoric—once again portraying the Jewish state as the aggressor rather than the victim of Islamist terror.
“Hamas does not have bombs or nuclear arms, but Israel has all of these and uses these weapons to hit Gaza,” Erdogan declared, ignoring Hamas’s stockpile of Iranian-supplied rockets and its extensive terror tunnel network beneath civilian areas.
He went on to accuse Israel of waging “famine and genocide,” an allegation widely dismissed by Western governments and international law experts as baseless propaganda.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz, standing firm, rebuked Erdogan’s claims and defended Israel’s right to protect its citizens.
“It would have taken only one decision to avoid countless unnecessary casualties,” Merz stated. “Hamas should have released the hostages earlier and laid down its arms.”
Merz expressed optimism that the ongoing U.S.-brokered and Turkey-supported ceasefire framework could bring the war to an end—but underscored that Hamas bears full responsibility for the suffering in Gaza due to its refusal to surrender and stop using civilians as human shields.
Erdogan’s pattern of incendiary remarks has become a hallmark of his policy since the Hamas atrocities of October 7, when terrorists murdered 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped more than 250. In March, Erdogan infamously called Israel a “terror state” after it targeted Hamas command posts. In June, he accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being “the greatest threat to Middle East security.”
Despite mild criticism of Israel’s tactics earlier this year, Chancellor Merz has remained consistent in rejecting the “genocide” narrative, warning that “criticism of Israel must never become a pretext for antisemitism.”
As Erdogan doubles down on pro-Hamas rhetoric, Germany’s stance highlights a growing divide within NATO—between Turkey’s Islamist populism and Europe’s democratic solidarity with Israel’s fight against terror.
