(MENAFN) Israel was labeled as a "terrorist state" that "kills children" by the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the statement later resulted in a violent rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

AFP reported President Erdogan's statement during a speech in the central city of Sivas, saying "Palestine is an innocent victim" As for Israel, it is a terrorist state, yes, terrorist! We will not abandon Jerusalem to the mercy of a state that kills children."

While delivering a speech at a news conference held in Paris along with French President Emmanuel Macron, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted to Erdogan statement.

According to Reuters, Israeli Prime Minister responded "I'm not used to receiving lectures about morality from a leader who bombs Kurdish villages in his native Turkey, who jails journalists, helps Iran go around international sanctions and who helps terrorists, including in Gaza, kill innocent people."

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