MEE staff<\/a> | Published: June 11, 2026.<\/i><\/p>\nIsraeli lawmaker Ariel Kellner\u2014a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s Likud party\u2014declared that Turkey is a \u201ehostile state.\u201d In an interview with Galei Israel radio, Kellner said that Turkey is \u201ean enemy state in every respect,\u201d and that President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan is \u201ea dictator who seeks to restore the Islamic caliphate.\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201eHe is a very dangerous man who hates Israel with a passion,\u201d Kellner said, adding that Israel and Western nations \u201eshould view him as a threat.\u201d.<\/p>\n
Kellner\u2019s remarks came after Erdo\u011fan said on Tuesday that Israel\u2019s attacks on Syria and Lebanon had reached a point where they now threaten Turkey as well, and that Israeli \u201eaggression\u201d endangers the security of the entire world. \u201eIsrael must be stopped; it is humanity\u2019s duty,\u201d the Turkish president declared.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu responded by calling Erdo\u011fan an \u201eanti-Semitic dictator.\u201d.<\/p>\n
When U.S. President Donald Trump was asked about Erdo\u011fan\u2019s remarks, he said, \u201eHe\u2019s a very good friend of mine, and we\u2019ve worked very well together. I like him very much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turkey has become one of the most vocal critics of Israel\u2019s attacks on Iran, Gaza, and Lebanon. Relations between the two countries deteriorated sharply in May 2024, when Ankara severed trade ties with Israel and joined South Africa\u2019s genocide case at the International Court of Justice.<\/p>\n
Although direct exports from Turkey to Israel declined following the embargo, shipments continue to arrive via third countries, totaling $924 million in 2025. Meanwhile, Azerbaijani crude oil continues to flow to Israel via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline through Turkish ports.<\/p>\n
Tensions between Israel and Turkey have continued to escalate in recent weeks, as leaders have exchanged sharp accusations amid the war in Gaza and the power struggle in Syria. In late May, Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar also urged that Turkey be treated as a \u201ehostile state,\u201d warning that it could become Israel\u2019s next major adversary.<\/p>\n
Analysis<\/h3>\n
The current state of Israeli-Turkish relations is is on the brink of an open geopolitical conflict<\/b>. The analysis is based on three main pillars:<\/p>\n1. Rhetorical escalation: The \u201estrategic enemy\u201d narrative<\/h4>\n
The fact that both a ruling-party lawmaker (Kellner) and a minister (Zohar) have declared Turkey an \u201eenemy state\u201d is no longer just a political spat. This is a deliberate narrative construction<\/b>, which aims to prepare Israeli society and its international allies for a potential Turkish-Israeli confrontation. The phrases \u201erestoration of the caliphate\u201d and \u201eanti-Semitic dictator\u201d reignite past historical grievances and religious conflicts, making future diplomatic d\u00e9tente more difficult.<\/p>\n2. Economic Contradictions: Words vs. Numbers<\/h4>\n
The article highlights the most glaring hypocrisy: the gap between political rhetoric and economic reality.<\/b> Although Turkey sharply criticizes Israel at the political level, trade continues via third countries, and Azerbaijani oil continues to reach Israel via Turkish ports. This shows that for both Ankara and Tel Aviv, A complete break would be too painful economically<\/b>, even if that is how it is presented diplomatically.<\/p>\n3. Geopolitical Chess Game: Syria and Lebanon<\/h4>\n
The main source of tension is not only Gaza, but also the power struggle unfolding in Syria. For Turkey, the stability of Syria and Lebanon is a matter of national security (due to the influx of refugees and the Kurdish territories), while Israel carries out strikes under the pretext of an \u201eescalating threat.\u201d When Erdo\u011fan says that Israel\u2019s aggression \u201ealso threatens Turkey,\u201d it indicates that Ankara its ambitions for regional hegemony<\/b> would enforce against Israel.<\/p>\n
Summary:<\/b> Relations between Israel and Turkey have entered a \u201eCold War\u201d phase. While direct military conflict remains unlikely, the situation between the two countries proxy conflict<\/b> (In Syria and Lebanon) the situation is becoming increasingly dangerous. Statements by Kellner and Zohar suggest that the Israeli leadership no longer has confidence in a medium- or long-term reconciliation with Turkey.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Likud p\u00e1rti t\u00f6rv\u00e9nyhoz\u00f3 szerint Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan t\u00f6r\u00f6k eln\u00f6k \u201enagyon vesz\u00e9lyes ember\u201d, mik\u00f6zben egyre n\u0151 a fesz\u00fclts\u00e9g a k\u00e9t \u00e1llam k\u00f6z\u00f6tt. \u00cdrta: MEE staff | K\u00f6zz\u00e9t\u00e9ve: 2026. j\u00fanius 11. Ariel Kellner izraeli t\u00f6rv\u00e9nyhoz\u00f3 \u2013 a minisztereln\u00f6k, Benj\u00e1min Netanjahu Likud p\u00e1rtj\u00e1nak tagja \u2013 kijelentette, hogy T\u00f6r\u00f6korsz\u00e1g \u201eellens\u00e9ges \u00e1llam\u201d. A Galei Israel r\u00e1di\u00f3nak adott interj\u00faj\u00e1ban Kellner […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rs_blank_template":"","rs_page_bg_color":"","slide_template_v7":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-politics"],"modified_by":"Antipropaganda H\u00edrblog","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antipropaganda.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}