Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz ordered his ministry on Friday to summon Turkey’s Deputy Ambassador in Israel and issue a “severe reprimand” for lowering the Turkish flag to half-mast at the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv. This action followed the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Katz stated in a post on X, “The State of Israel will not tolerate expressions of mourning for a murderer like Ismail Haniyeh, who led Hamas in committing the atrocities on October 7th and prayed with his associates, wishing success to the murderers while watching the horrific images on television.”
He added, “If the embassy representatives wish to mourn, they should go to Turkey and mourn alongside their master, Erdogan, who embraces the terrorist organization Hamas and supports its acts of murder and terror.”
On Thursday, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared August 2 a day of “national mourning” over the killing of Hamas’ political bureau chief Haniyeh. Erdogan stated, “In order to show our support for the Palestinian Cause and our solidarity with our Palestinian siblings, a day of national mourning was declared tomorrow (August 2 Friday) due to Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh’s martyrdom.”
The Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv had lowered the national flag at its Embassy to show solidarity with Hamas supporters.
Haniyeh died alongside one of his bodyguards at his residence in Tehran while attending President Masoud Pezeshkian’s swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday.
Turkey also blocked access to Instagram on Friday, as announced by the Turkish Regulatory Authority for Digital Information and Communications (BTK). The announcement did not specify the reason or duration of the ban. This action followed allegations by BTK Head Fahrettin Altun, who accused the social media platform of preventing Turkish citizens from posting messages of condolences for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
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