Following threats by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan against Israel, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has called for Turkey to be expelled from NATO.

“Erdoğan has made Turkey a member of the Iranian axis of evil,” Mr Katz said, adding that Turkey hosts the Islamist terrorist organisation Hamas.

Mr Katz called on all NATO member states to “expel Turkey immediately.”

He said Turkey had massively violated NATO principles by “threatening to invade a democratic Western country without provocation.”

The United States and the Western world must “condemn Erdoğan and stop his destructive activities.”

On Sunday Erdoğan threatened Israel with military intervention, citing previous actions in Nagorno-Karabakh and Libya.

“Just as we entered Nagorno-Karabakh, just as we entered Libya, we will do the same with them,” the Turkish ruler said at an event of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Rize on the Black Sea.

Mr Erdoğan was referring to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, where he supported Azerbaijan with drones and other military aid.

Ankara is also backing the internationally recognised government of Libya with military equipment and personnel.

Following that Katz compared Erdoğan to Saddam Hussein, the former leader of Iraq who was deposed and executed following U.S. intervention there.

“Erdoğan is following in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein and is threatening an attack on Israel,” Mr Katz said on the X platform.

“He should just remember what happened there and how it ended.”

Since the beginning of the Gaza war, relations between Israel and Turkey have deteriorated drastically.

Mr Erdoğan called Hamas a “liberation organisation” and compared Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.

(dpa/NAN)