Israel Katz has launched a fierce verbal attack against Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Israel’s Defense Minister warned the Turkish President “not to mess with” his country. For the second time — following a June statement by Turkey’s Interior Minister expressing his dream of becoming “governor of Jerusalem” — Katz drew a sharp comparison between Israel’s capital and Constantinople.
“We are not the declining Christian empire. Jerusalem is not Constantinople, which you conquered when you founded the Ottoman Empire,” Katz stated on Israel’s Channel 14, as reported by SKAI.
He went on to say: “The Muslim Brotherhood axis could prove very dangerous… We are responsible for protecting our interests. I advise Erdogan not to mess with us. We will be here forever. Jerusalem is ours forever. We know how to defend ourselves, and we are strong. Don’t mess with us. My advice to Erdogan is not to pick a fight with Israel and not to put himself in the position Iran found itself in. He still has enough room to avoid that. Instead, let him focus on Turkey and its own issues. We look after our own interests and we will continue to do so.”
Read more: Israel fires back at Turkish Interior Minister who wished to become “governor of Jerusalem” — “The Ottoman Empire Erdogan dreams of has collapsed”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Türkiye:
We are not the collapsing Christian empire. Jerusalem is not Constantinople, which you conquered when you built the Ottoman Empire.
We are here forever. Jerusalem is ours forever. We know how to defend ourselves, and we are… pic.twitter.com/iaZcUC10q1
— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 28, 2026
Katz: Trump understands
Despite the reaction from Donald Trump when asked about Benjamin Netanyahu‘s objections to the sale of F-35s to Turkey, Israel Katz emphasized that the US President “understands that Israel will not withdraw from its security zones in Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria.” “I visited Gaza a week ago. There are still massive underground tunnels there,” he added.
Israel’s Defense Minister is further inflaming the already hostile relations between Turkey and Israel that have been deteriorating since October 7, 2023. The Hamas attack and the war in Gaza dealt irreparable blows to the bilateral relationship. Since then, Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have increasingly described Ankara as a regional adversary. Speaking on Fox News earlier this month, Netanyahu characterized Turkey as “a regime infected by the Muslim Brotherhood, an extremist movement that hates America and chants ‘Death to America.'”
