'Hatred-fueled genocide network' uses faith as cover, deepening regional crisis: Turkish president
Netanyahu gov't not only targeting Iran, also gradually implementing plans to invade Lebanon, Erdogan says
Turkish President and Leader of Justice and Development Party Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during Meeting with Provincial Heads of his party at AK Party Congress Center in Ankara, Turkiye on March 26, 2026.
ISTANBUL
Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday slammed the Israeli administration, labeling it a "genocide network blinded by hatred" due to its actions in the region, noting that it is dragging the region into its worst turmoil of the century.
The war launched on Iran continues to engulf the region in "blood and gunpowder," with missiles targeting innocent children attending school, Erdogan told provincial leaders of his Justice and Development (AK) Party in the Turkish capital Ankara, referring to the bombed school in Minab, Iran.
The Netanyahu government is not only targeting Iran, but it is also gradually implementing plans to invade Lebanon, he warned.
Türkiye neither discriminates "among its brothers, neighbors" nor stands idly by while they suffer, Erdogan added.
On Israel's decision not to allow Muslims to perform their Eid-prayers in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, Erdogan said that blocking Eid prayers at Al-Aqsa, for the first time since 1967, is an "audacious" attack on 2 billion Muslims’ faith.
Muslims’ right to worship at Al-Aqsa Mosque cannot be taken, blocked, or banned, "no matter the pretext," the Turkish leader added, slamming the Israeli administration.
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