A Turkish Foreign Ministry source said on Tuesday that Israeli Ambassador to Ankara Eitan Naeh had been told that it would be “appropriate” if he returned to the occupied territories “for some time.”
Hours later, Israel’s ministry for foreign affairs said that Turkish Consul General in Jerusalem al-Quds Husnu Gurcan Turkoglu had been summoned and told to return to Turkey “for consultations for a period of time.”
In response, the Turkish government summoned Israel’s Consul General in Istanbul Yossi Levi Safri and asked him to leave the country.
Turkey had already recalled its ambassadors to Tel Aviv and Washington in the wake of the inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem al-Quds on Monday.
Additionally on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traded barbs over the recent carnage in Gaza.
Israeli forces killed at least 62 Palestinians during protests near the Gaza fence on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), which coincided this year with Washington’s embassy relocation.
More than 2,700 Palestinians were also wounded as the Israeli forces used snipers, airstrikes, tank fire and tear gas to target the demonstrators.
