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Turkey has rejected comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing Ankara of harbouring “imperial ambitions”, describing the remarks as a cheap tactic aimed at diverting attention from Israel’s crimes in the region.

Burhanettin Duran, head of the Turkish presidency’s communications directorate, said on Tuesday that Israel’s “hysterical approach” to Turkey’s growing power and influence was “ridiculous”, adding that Ankara would continue to stand firmly with those seeking peace and stability.

Duran made the comments in a social media post responding to statements by Netanyahu during a summit held in Jerusalem on Monday, attended by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.

He said Israel’s long-standing hysterical approach, as a destabilizing force in the region, towards Turkey’s influence “can only be described as ridiculous”, adding that under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey has become a guarantor of peace and stability.

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Duran strongly criticised Netanyahu’s government, saying it had brought “blood and tears” to the region. He said Israel continues to act as an occupying power in Palestine and Syria, while attempting to conceal “expansionist ambitions under the banner of national security”.

He said Israeli officials’ references to the “imperial ambitions of others” amounted to a glaring contradiction, particularly in light of the perpetration of one of the most horrific genocides in history.

Duran said Israel has launched attacks on seven countries in the Middle East over the past two years, adding that Netanyahu’s government has been “a disaster in every sense of the word”, not only for the region but also for Israeli society.

He accused Israel of trying to divert attention from its actions by attacking Turkey, stressing that Ankara would not be deterred from supporting the Palestinian people.

“We in Turkey will continue to stand firmly with all those who seek peace and stability,” Duran said, adding that such remarks would not prevent Turkey from backing “our Palestinian brothers”.

He concluded by saying that peace would ultimately prevail, despite efforts to undermine it.

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.