'Paper sultan': Katz attacks Erdogan over United Nations General Assembly speech

Jerusalem Post/Israel NewsKatz accused Erdogan of financing and embracing Hamas, and claimed that he dreams of "restoring the Ottoman Empire" in a post on X/Twitter.Follow us on GoogleTurkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 22, 2026.(photo credit: REUTERS/BRENDAN MCDERMID)SEPTEMBER 24, 2026 10:19Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a "paper sultan," Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday after Erdogan's speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.Katz accused Erdogan of financing and embracing Hamas, and claimed that he dreams of "restoring the Ottoman Empire" in a post on X/Twitter."Now he's signed the 'Mecca Agreement' to defend Saudi Arabia," he said, "But when the Houthis fired missiles at Mecca and it was time to honor his word, he vanished into thin air."He also told the Turkish president to stop picking fights with Israel."Israel is strong and knows how to protect itself. We're not the Kurds and the desperate people he still oppresses in Turkey today," he said.Defense Minister Israel Katz at Jerusalem City Hall, December 15, 2025. (credit: CHAIM GOLDBERG/FLASH90)Erdogan calls for UN Security Council reform, condemns Gaza situationErdogan told the UNGA on Tuesday that the UN had become unable to fulfill its duty of preserving peace and called for reform of the Security Council.He also condemned the situation in Gaza, saying, "No one who holds humanity, compassion, and mercy in their heart, with a sense of justice and conscience, can turn a blind eye" to what was happening there.He urged countries that do not recognize a Palestinian state to review their position and for all nations to increase pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza, which he called "our time's most inhumane, most embarrassing concentration camp."Reuters contributed to this report.Follow us on Google