Netanyahu calls Erdogan 'antisemitic dictator'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an “antisemitic dictator” on Friday and said Israel would keep acting against what it described as Turkish attempts to destabilise the region.

The statement came after Turkey said it had sought an international arrest warrant for Netanyahu, accusing him of “genocide” linked to Israel's interception of an aid flotilla for Gaza.

The dispute also follows Syria's accusation that Israel struck a disused military air base near Aleppo earlier in the week. Netanyahu later tacitly acknowledged the strike and said Turkey was looking to establish a military presence there. Turkey has denied any visit to the site and said it would continue supporting Syrian sovereignty.

Netanyahu's office accused Erdogan of seeking “to extend his aggression against Israel into Syria” and said Israel “will not tolerate it.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Abu al-Zuhur base was part of efforts to reactivate the airfield after it was damaged during Syria's civil war and put out of service in 2012. Netanyahu has framed Turkey as a security threat before Israel's October 27 election, while Turkish officials have condemned the Syria strikes as unacceptable.