Sa’ar Condemns Turkish Foreign Minister’s Anti-Israel Remarks as “Textbook Incitement”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar sharply condemned Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan after Fidan launched a hostile anti-Israel attack during an interview with CNN Turk.

Fidan claimed Israel had become a problem for “all of humanity” and described Israel and its policies as a “burden” that humanity could no longer carry. He also called for diplomatic action and sanctions against Israel.

The Turkish foreign minister went further, accusing Israel of looking for a new enemy and suggesting Turkey would not back down from confrontation.

“We have no problem with confrontation. If it comes to that, it is not an issue for us,” Fidan said.

Sa’ar responded by calling Fidan’s remarks dangerous and dehumanizing.

“Turkish FM Hakan Fidan’s sickening words are textbook incitement to genocide,” Sa’ar said.

Sa’ar added that describing the Jewish people as an “unbearable burden” echoes the language used by history’s worst eliminationist regimes.

He called on the civilized world and Turkey’s NATO allies to clearly condemn what he described as an explicit call for the erasure of Israel.

Fidan’s comments come amid a broader wave of anti-Israel rhetoric from Turkish officials since the October 7 Hamas massacre, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other senior figures repeatedly attacking Israel while Jerusalem continues its war against Hamas and Iran-backed terror forces.