The United States has condemned Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan over what it termed as “antisemitic comments regarding the Jewish people.”
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said: “We urge President Erdogan and other Turkish leaders to refrain from incendiary remarks, which could incite further violence. We call on Turkey to join the United States in working to end the conflict.”
Mr Price also said that “antisemitic language has no place anywhere” and that the US is committed to “combating anti-Semitism in all of its forms.”
It was not immediately clear which remark by Mr Erdogan the US was referring to, but the Turkish president had denounced Israel for the violence that erupted last week.
He criticised the US on Monday for its approval of weapons sales to Israel and said that President Biden had "bloody hands" because of his support to the country.
“You are writing history with your bloody hands in this incident that is a serious disproportionate attack on Gaza, which is leading to the martyrdom of hundreds of thousands of people,” Reuters quote Mr Erdogan as saying.
The Biden administration approved the sale of precision-guided weapons to Israel before the recent conflict broke out between Hamas and the Israeli government, and notified the Congress on 5 May, according to The Washington Post. Lawmakers have 15 days to object once a formal notification has been made.
Mr Biden had earlier expressed support for “Israel’s security and for Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself and its people.”
With no sign of the violence abating, Israel bombarded Gaza with air strikes on Wednesday as rockets rained down on its .
At least 217 Palestinians have been killed, including 63 children, and more than 1,400 wounded since the fighting began. Authorities have said 12 people have been killed in Israel, including two children, according to Reuters.
Mr Erdogan also lashed out at Austria on Monday and condemned it for flying an Israeli flag over the federal chancellery in Vienna on Friday.
