Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have exchanged insults over recent clashes on the Gaza border that killed at least 15 Palestinians.
In a speech on April 1, Erdogan condemned Israel's lethal military response to a demonstration on the border, and called Netanyahu a "terrorist."
“You are an invader and right now are present in those lands as an invader. At the same time, you are a terrorist,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan's remarks came after Netanyahu said on Twitter that the Israeli military "will not be lectured by those who have indiscriminately bombed civilian populations for years."
“Apparently, this is how they mark April 1 in Ankara,” Netanyahu added, in reference to April’s Fool Day.
Netanyahu was referring to another speech by Erdogan earlier on April 1 when he condemned Israel's "inhumane attack."
Erdogan called Israel a "terrorist state," and said: "You have no one that likes you in the world."
Netanyahu has previously called Erdogan someone who "bombs Kurdish villagers" in a reference to the Turkish Army’s operations in northern Syria.
The war of words between the two came after Israeli forces opened fire on some violent demonstrations on the Gaza border on March 30, killing 15 people.
Israel said eight of the 15 belonged to Hamas, designated a terrorist group by Israel and the West, and two others came from other militant factions.
Hamas said five of the dead were members of its armed wing.
