Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday in an address to his Islamic-conservative ruling AKP party that Israel's actions in the region were also a threat to Turkey.
Israel's attacks on Lebanon and Syria had reached a scale that also threatened his country, Erdoğan said in Ankara. He also accused Israel of pursuing destabilizing policies across the region including in the eastern Mediterranean.
Erdoğan has sharply criticized Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the past. Relations between the two countries are considered strained.
Israel continues to carry out daily attacks in Lebanon despite a ceasefire. The destruction is extensive, particularly in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military is also continuing ground operations in Syria, particularly in the south of the country near the border with the Golan Heights controlled by Israel.
Israel justifies the actions by citing the fight against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia and other groups it classifies as a threat.
Netanyahu, in turn, has said that Erdoğan is "the last person who could deliver moral lectures to the State of Israel. " He has accused Erdoğan of supporting Hamas, oppressing his own people and jailing political rivals.
NATO member Turkey, which once had close ties with Israel, is a staunch critic of Israel's attacks on Iran, Gaza and Lebanon. Erdoğan also described Israel as a threat "to humanity."
