By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
ANKARA/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Wednesday that Turkey has cut its ties with the State of Israel, marking a sharp escalation in diplomatic tensions between the two nations.
“We have cut trade and ties with Israel, period,” Erdoğan said in remarks to Turkish media.
However, Israeli officials in Jerusalem said they were unaware of the diplomatic status change.
While Turkey recalled its ambassador from Israel “in protest of the Gaza War,” the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv is still operating, Israeli sources said.
Erdoğan spoke to reporters aboard his plane following recent visits to Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.
The Turkey’s leader stressed his condemnation of what he called “genocide” by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon.
ISRAEL DENIES
Israel’s government has vehemently denied committing atrocities, saying it is fighting Iran’s proxies, such as Hamas, after the group killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7 last year.
However, Erdoğan said there was “an urgent need” for humanitarian aid and an immediate ceasefire. “As you know, intense efforts are being made to keep the pressure on Israel alive and to take coercive measures against this country based on international law,” he added.
The Turkish president has been among Israel’s harshest critics before and after last year’s Hamas massacre, described as “the worst atrocity against Jews since the Holocaust,” or Shoah.
He refused to condemn the Hamas atrocities against Israeli civilians and instead lashed out at Israel for its war against Hamas in Gaza.
In March, Erdoğan emphasized Turkey’s strong ties with Hamas, which he refuses to recognize as a “terrorist organization.”
“Turkey is a country that speaks openly with Hamas leaders and firmly backs them. No one can make us qualify Hamas as a terrorist organization,” he said
HITLER COMPARISON
The Turkish president has also compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler who ordered the murder of six million Jews.
“Netanyahu and his administration, with their crimes against humanity in Gaza, are writing their names next to Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin, like today’s Nazis,” Erdoğan claimed.
In May, the Turkish leader escalated his rhetoric by calling Netanyahu a “vampire” and said the State of Israel was a threat to “all of humanity.”
He also announced that Turkey would halt all commercial trade with the Jewish state. Former Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz strongly condemned Erdoğan, accusing him of undermining both Israeli and Turkish traders.
“Erdoğan crossed a line and blocked ports for Israeli exports and imports,” Katz complained.
“This is how a dictator behaves – trampling on the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen and ignoring international trade agreements,” he argued.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
A political standoff is brewing in Washington after President Donald Trump vowed not to sign new legislation until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, prompting warnings from Senate leaders that the move could trigger legislative gridlock.
An international law-enforcement operation has led to the arrest of 60 suspects and the rescue of 65 child victims following a year-long investigation across Central America, North America, and the Caribbean.
President Donald Trump unveiled a sweeping new strategy to combat drug cartels across the Western Hemisphere, declaring that powerful trafficking networks should be treated as national security threats rather than ordinary criminal organizations.
Israel’s military says it has struck more than 600 Hezbollah targets across Lebanon and eliminated roughly 200 terrorists since the Iranian-backed group joined the regional conflict last week.
G7 finance ministers said Monday they will take “necessary measures” to stabilize energy supplies but added there is no plan yet to release strategic oil stockpiles after prices for the vital commodity surged over the weekend to a 45-month high.
The United States federal budget deficit totaled $1 trillion in the first five months of fiscal year 2026, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
President Donald Trump said Monday that the joint U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran is “very far ahead of schedule,” declaring that the Islamic Republic’s military infrastructure has been largely destroyed and the conflict could soon come to an end.