Israeli opposition leader hits back at Erdogan: ‘A terrible record on human rights’ – News

The leader of the Israeli opposition, Yair Lapid, took to social media this Wednesday (15) to repudiate the statements made by the President of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan, who had earlier accused Israel of being “a terrorist state” and of possessing a nuclear bomb.

“We will not accept morality lessons from President Erdogan, a man with a terrible human rights record,” the politician wrote on X (formerly Twitter), adding that Israel “is defending itself against brutal terrorists” from Hamas, an organization he compares with the Islamic State, due to the level of violence of the crimes committed.

Speaking at the weekly meeting of his party’s parliamentary group, the AK Parti, Erdogan said, citing by name the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahuknowing that the Israeli state has an atomic bomb.

“I am saying openly, with a clear conscience, that Israel is a terrorist state.”

Just as I had done previously, Erdogan once again defended Hamasa group classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Australia, Paraguay and the European Union.

Under Erdogan’s command for 20 years, Turkey has been internationally denounced on several occasions for human rights violations. The president has transformed the country into an autocracy, which arrests and kills enemies.

He controls 90% of the media and the entire electoral system to stay in power.

Last year, journalists were detained on charges of belonging to terrorist organizations. Singer Gülşen was detained for alleged incitement to hatred. Legislative changes, known as the Censorship Law, were introduced in October, affecting the circulation of information on social media.

According to the international organization Humans Rights Watch, “President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government is dismantling human rights protections and democratic norms in Turkey on an unprecedented scale.”

“The latest developments against the parliamentary opposition, the Kurds and women aim to ensure the president’s maintenance of power, in violation of human rights and democratic safeguards,” said the entity’s executive director, Kenneth Roth, in March 2021.

Also last year, Turkey entered the Gray List of the FATF (International Financial Action Group), due to its failure to combat money laundering at a global level and for allowing the financing of terrorist activities.

Erdogan was re-elected in 2024 for another five years in office. During the campaign, he was caught distributing 200 Turkish lira notes (equivalent to R$42) to a large number of people at a polling station.

Recently, the Turkish president met with Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

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