Turkiye rejects Netanyahu's 'baseless accusations' at UN

ISTANBUL: Turkiye rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "baseless accusations" at the United Nations, its state-run news agency Anadolu reported on Friday.

Netanyahu had called Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a "tyrant" during a fiery speech at the UN, accusing Ankara of harbouring Hamas leaders.

The Israeli leader's address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday, in which he denounced enemies and allies alike, sparked uproar in the chamber.

Dozens of envoys from across the world walked out, some jeering and booing, while Netanyahu's own team stood and applauded, and the speaker of the session shouted for order.

"The latest country to become a super spreader of antisemitic lies (is Turkiye)," he said.

"Erdogan is a tyrant. He also hosts the Hamas terror chiefs."

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Erdogan has urged world leaders to "exert greater pressure on Israel" over its war in Gaza and called on nations to recognise Palestine as an independent state.

Anadolu quoted the Turkish presidency's communications director Burhanettin Duran as slamming Netanyahu's allegation as "incompatible" with UN values.

"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's use of the UN General Assembly podium to level 'baseless accusations' against Turkiye and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was incompatible with the 'ideals of peace, law and dialogue' represented by the UN," Duran said.

Netanyahu's words cannot "make his massacres, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the proceedings before international law invisible," he added.