In an apparent dig at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who claimed Israel's spy agency Mossad had a hand in the Kurdish referendum for independence, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that whenever "uncomfortable" such leaders see a "Mossad" hand.
"Israel had no part in the Kurdish referendum, apart from the deep, natural sympathy that the people of Israel have had for many years for the Kurdish people and their aspirations," Netanyahu told his cabinet today at its weekly meeting.
"I understand why those who support Hamas and want to see the Mossad everywhere that is uncomfortable for them," the Israeli Prime Minister said a day after Erdogan accused Israel of interfering in the Kurdish independence vote.
Netanyahu was the only world leader to endorse an independent Kurdistan.
The Israeli leader had said that Israel "supports the legitimate efforts of the Kurdish people to achieve a state of their own" ahead of the September 25 referendum vote.
Erdogan yesterday said that the fact that Israeli flags were waved during events celebrating the 'yes' vote in Kurdish areas proves Israel's involvement.
A foreign news agency quoted the Turkish leader as saying that "this shows one thing, that this administration (the Kurdish leadership in northern Iraq) has a history with Mossad, they are hand-in-hand together".
Iraqi Kurds overwhelmingly backed independence in the referendum with 92 per cent voting 'yes', defying neighbouring countries which fear the vote could fuel Kurdish separatism within their own borders and lead to fresh conflict.
The Kurdish population is scattered along Iraqi, Iranian, Turkish and Syrian territory. It has stuck to its identity despite all attempts to assimilate and disperse it.
The referendum took place in the territories of Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government.
The Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah also struck a note similar to the Turkish leader with its head Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah describing the referendum as part of a US-Israeli plot to carve up the region.
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