Netanyahu on Erdogan: "When Someone Says They Intend to Destroy You, Take Them Seriously"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today (Sunday) at the cabinet meeting that he is deeply concerned by the ongoing escalation in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rhetoric against Israel, making clear that Jerusalem views his remarks as a threat that must be taken with full seriousness. 

Netanyahu’s comments came in the wake of remarks by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, who said last week that Washington is reexamining the possibility of selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. According to the prime minister, Israel will also approach the United States and ask it to pay attention to the Turkish president’s repeated statements.

Netanyahu said during the meeting: "Hardly a day goes by without Erdogan calling for the destruction of the State of Israel—we take those words very seriously, because if we have learned one thing from the history of our people, it is this: when someone says they intend to destroy you, take them seriously. We are taking these statements seriously, and we will also draw the attention of our American friends to them. We are not ignoring them."

The prime minister’s remarks came after a harsh speech delivered by Erdogan last week. During that speech, he claimed that "the ideology that calls itself Zionism is an ideology of genocide, occupation, and constant expansion." He added: "This ideology is not aimed only at me personally, it is not aimed only at our party or our political alliance, but is a threat directed against everyone, without exception."

These remarks join a series of statements made by the Turkish president in recent months, in which he claimed, among other things, that Israel also seeks to take control of territories inside Anatolia. At the same time as the speech, the communications office of the Turkish presidency released a statement in which Erdogan emphasized Ankara’s position toward Israel: "Since October 7, we are the only country that has not only shown the strongest response to the massacre taking place in Gaza, but also the one that has taken real and concrete measures against Israel," Erdogan said, referring to the trade boycott Turkey imposed on Israel.