Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is reported to have called for the destruction of Israel during his Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Çamlıca Mosque in Istanbul on Sunday.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Erdoğan stated “May Allah, for the sake of his name ‘Al-Qahhar,’ destroy and devastate Zionist Israel.” His call for the annihilation of the Jewish state has drawn fierce condemnation, especially from Israeli officials.

In response to his comments, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stated on X, “The dictator Erdoğan has shown his antisemitic face,” adding that “Erdoğan is dangerous to the region, as well as to his own people, as has been proven in recent days.” Sa’ar referred to the widespread protests in Turkey and added, “Let’s hope NATO members understand how dangerous he is, and not before it’s too late.”
Following his comments, Turkey’s foreign ministry issued a statement that read, in part, “We categorically reject the outrageous statement made by the Foreign Minister of the Netanyahu government.”