Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned Turkey’s deputy ambassador on Friday to reprimand him for flying the Turkish flag at half-mast at its embassy in Tel Aviv over the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniya.
“The State of Israel will not tolerate expressions of mourning for a murderer like Ismail Haniya,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said.
In his statement, Katz said Haniya was the Hamas leader during the October 7 attack on Israel, in which some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed and 250 people were taken hostage.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Onçu Keçeli, responding to Katz’s comments on social media platform X, said: “You cannot achieve peace by killing negotiators and threatening diplomats,” referring to Haniya’s assassination.
