Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived at the rally, where he delivered an anti-Israeli, antisemitic and anti-Western speech, saying. "Hamas is not a terrorist organization, but you, Israel, are the occupier."
"Israel is behind the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) both with money and weapons. We know that. We will show the world the war crimes that Israel is committing. Western countries owe Israel. Turkey owes nothing. The leaders who visit Israel these days need to ask for forgiveness."
Following Erdogan's statements, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen instructed Israel's diplomatic representatives inn Turkey to return to Israel and added, "We will reevaluate Israel-Turkey relations."
Israel and Turkey formally announced last year that they would normalize relations by returning the ambassadors and consuls, after years of tensions.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was supposed to visit Turkey this past July and meet with Erdogan, but canceled the visit after undergoing a procedure to implant a pacemaker.
The visit was to take place in October or November, but Erdogan has upped his attacks on Israel since the start of the war against Hamas.
