Israel Furious After Turkish Flag Flies Half-Mast In Tel Aviv Post Hamas Leader Haniyeh's Death

2024-08-02 07:45:16

(MENAFN- IANS) Tel Aviv, Aug 2 (IANS) Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Friday ordered his ministry to summon Turkey's Deputy Turkish Ambassador in the country and issue a "severe reprimand" for lowering of the Turkish flag to half-mast at the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

"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," Katz said in a post on X Friday afternoon.

"If the embassy representatives wish to mourn, they should go to Turkey and mourn alongside their master, Erdogan, who embraces the terrorist organisation Hamas and supports its acts of murder and terror," he added.

Turkey's President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday declared August 2 as a day of "national mourning" over the killing of Hamas' political bureau chief Haniyeh.

"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," Erdogan said on Thursday.

The Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv had also lowered the national flag at its Embassy to show solidarity with the Hamas supporters.

Haniyeh was killed alongside one of his bodyguards at his residence in Tehran while he was in the Iranian capital to attend President Masoud Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday.

Turkey has also blocked access to Instagram, the Turkish Regulatory Authority for Digital Information and Communications (BTK) announced on Friday without specifying the reason or duration of the ban.

The move follows allegations levelled by BTK Head Fahrettin Altun, who accused the social media platform of preventing Turkish citizens from posting messages of condolences on the passing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

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