Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his speech at the UN General Assembly to call out Turkish President Recep...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his speech at the UN General Assembly to call out Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by name, calling him a "tyrant" who "illegally occupies northern Cyprus, an EU member" and "regularly transgresses against Greece, a NATO member." Netanyahu also accused Erdogan of hosting Hamas leadership, murdering thousands of Kurdish civilians, denying the Armenian genocide, and jailing journalists and opposition figures. He went further, saying Erdogan "says he is going to be the ruler of Jerusalem," before responding directly: "No, sir, you won't." Turkey fired back quickly. Presidential communications director Burhanettin Duran called Netanyahu's remarks "impudent and vile," arguing that they couldn't distract from what he described as Israel's massacres in Gaza and Netanyahu's standing ICC arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides also addressed the General Assembly, calling Erdogan's own speech "hypocrisy of the highest form." Erdogan had cited the UN Charter and called for international recognition of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, while also demanding an end to what he called the "inhumane isolation" of Turkish Cypriots. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described Cyprus as a "litmus test" of the UN's credibility, noting that 52 years have passed since Turkey's invasion and occupation of the island. He called the situation a "flagrant violation of international law" and said Greece fully backs Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' efforts to restart substantive negotiations before his final term expires at the end of December. Four heads of government raised the Cyprus issue during this year's General Assembly, making it one of the more prominent sovereignty debates of the session. #Cyprus #Turkey #UnitedNations