Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz launched a violent and direct attack on the Israeli occupation state, stressing that Israel's political and expansionist measures and plans threaten the stability of the entire Middle East region and push it to the brink.

Yilmaz said during his participation in the funeral ceremony of former Iranian leader Ali Khamenei on Friday, July 3, that the measures that Israel claims to be taking for its security have nothing to do with security, but rather fall within the framework of an expansionist policy that threatens the stability of the entire region.

Yilmaz expressed his country's condolences to Iran for the victims of the recent attacks, considering that this war has not only caused human losses, but has also caused severe environmental and economic damage, especially in the Strait of Hormuz.

Yilmaz stressed that "a return as soon as possible to the normal conditions that prevailed before the war is crucial, both for the global economy, the regional economy and for bilateral relations."

"We do not want war in our region, but we want stability, we want all societies in the region to live in peace and stability," he said, stressing that there are external forces manipulating the region to exploit its resources by provoking conflicts based on sectarian and ethnic differences.

"What we need is to respect these differences, highlight our points of convergence, develop and strengthen our relations, and promote the well-being of the peoples, countries and peoples of the region without falling into these traps and conflicts," he said.

Mutual escalation between Ankara and Tel Aviv

Israeli officials, led by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have claimed that Turkey's recent criticism is nothing more than an attempt to "cover up what they describe as Turkey's destabilizing behavior," accusing Ankara of supporting resistance movements in the region and escalating its rhetoric against Tel Aviv.

The Israeli government stressed that the Turkish response falls within what it described as the "axis of incitement," considering that the Turkish statements reflect "alignment with hostile regional powers."

Earlier, in a direct message, Netanyahu stressed the need to "calm down and stop hostile rhetoric," claiming that Turkey is trying to play a regional role "larger than its size" by attacking Israeli military operations and that Tel Aviv "will not allow" Turkish statements to turn into political pressure on the course of operations.

Erdogan: Zionism is based on genocide

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech delivered on Saturday, June 27 in the province of Sakarya, excerpts of which were published by Anadolu Agency, that the "Zionist ideology based on genocide, occupation and expansion" is not only targeting him personally, nor the Justice and Development Party or the People's Alliance, but all the Turkish people.

Confronting this ideology "is not a personal or partisan battle, but a struggle for the survival of the state and the entire people," he said.

Erdogan stressed that the Turkish people, with all its 86 million components, have a history, destiny and a common homeland that has been watered with the blood of martyrs, despite different opinions, approaches and lifestyles, stressing that this diversity does not cancel the unity of society under the same flag and the same goal.

Turkish Presidency: Israel's hands are stained with the blood of innocents

The Turkish presidency described Israel's recognition of the events of 1915 during the Ottoman Empire as a "genocide" against Armenians as a "desperate attempt" to cover up its crimes in Palestine and the region.

"It is extremely hypocritical that the Israeli administration, which committed the most heinous massacre of the 21st century by killing tens of thousands of innocent civilians, including children, women and the elderly, dares to use historical events as a political weapon," the head of the Turkish presidency's communications department said on Monday, June 29.

"Israel's recognition of the events of 1915 as genocide is a desperate attempt to cover up the blood of innocent Palestinians that they have on their hands, the state terrorism they are practicing in the Middle East, and the crimes against humanity they commit unchecked," he added.

"The greatest paradox in human history is that a party that continues to bomb hospitals, schools, places of worship and refugee camps, and tramples on international law," he said.

He stressed that those on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide have "no right to give Turkey history lessons or to claim to protect the human conscience."

Turkey's position reflects a new diplomatic escalation between Ankara and Tel Aviv, at a time when international pressure on Israel is increasing, while the latter is trying to employ sensitive historical files in its current political battles.