New Delhi: Israel on Saturday called back its diplomats from Turkey after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "terrorist". Taking to X (formerly Twitter) Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said that  he has ordered the return of diplomatic representatives from Turkey to reevaluate the relations of the two countries following the "grave statement."


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"Given the grave statements coming from Turkey, I have ordered the return of diplomatic representatives there in order to conduct a reevaluation of the relations between Israel and Turkey," wrote Israeli Foreign Minister Cohen. 



Speaking at a pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul on Saturday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a terrorist while the militant group Hamas is not, adding that Israel is an occupier in the Middle East. In the rally that was attended by hundreds of thousands of people in Istanbul,  Erdogan said the Turkish people were ready to defend the Middle East if Western countries tried to wage a fight between Christianity and Islam.


He said Turkey would declare Israel as a war criminal, without further elaborating. Turkey supports Palestinians, backs a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and hosts members of militant group Hamas. Although Ankara was working to mend ties with Israel before the fighting began, it has toughened its stance against Israel as fighting and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza intensified.