Israeli top diplomat's remarks on Erdogan 'slander' and 'disinformation'

Tel Aviv's top diplomat Israel Katz has once again targeted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as the assassinated head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh.

Addressing Katz's post on X as "slander for disinformation purposes," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "These lies, which aim to divert attention from the genocide taking place in Gaza, will not hinder our support for the Palestinian people."

The Israeli foreign minister claimed that a "conflict erupted" between Erdogan and Haniyeh's sons Abdusselam and Hammam Haniyeh during a meeting last week, when the two "demanded the $3 billion held in Turkish bank accounts under their father's name."

Türkiye's Center for Countering Disinformation also addressed the slander.

"Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, who was martyred in Iran as a result of an Israeli assassination, did not have any savings in Turkish banks as claimed," the centre said in a statement, adding that Erdogan received Haniyeh's sons to convey his condolences.

"During the meeting, no such issue was raised, as claimed by the Foreign Minister Katz of Israel," it added, stressing that Tel Aviv's disinformation campaigns, intended to "justify its genocide in Palestine" and manipulate public opinion should not be given credit.