Netanyahu Calls Erdogan 'Tyrant,' Accuses Turkey of Cyprus Occupation at UN

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a 'tyrant' and accused Turkey of illegally occupying northern Cyprus during a fiery 40-minute address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 24, 2026. Speaking before dozens of delegates who walked out as he began, Netanyahu alleged that Erdogan 'hosts the Hamas terror chiefs, has murdered thousands of Kurdish civilians, denies the Armenian genocide, and jails journalists and opposition leaders.' He added that Turkey 'illegally occupies northern Cyprus, part of an EU member state, and regularly transgresses against Greece, a NATO member.' The Israeli leader also accused Erdogan of seeking to take over Syria and claiming Jerusalem. 'No, sir, you won't. This is our country, our city, our eternal capital,' Netanyahu said. The speech came a day after Netanyahu met Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the UN sidelines, where they discussed energy cooperation and a Greece-Cyprus-Israel trilateral summit. In the same address, Netanyahu also singled out Qatar, accusing it of being the first country to 'spend untold billions to spread lies' about Israel and of funding American universities and Al Jazeera. He described the period since October 7, 2023, as a 'seven-front war' and claimed Israel had 'devastated Iran's nuclear facilities,' invited the Iranian delegation to leave a Starlink device at the podium, and asserted that 'the Iranian people will be free.' The broadside against Erdogan marks one of the most direct confrontations between Israeli and Turkish leadership in recent years, reflecting the deep rift between two regional powers that have clashed over Gaza, Palestinian statehood, and the Eastern Mediterranean energy order.