Tit-for-tat: Israeli PM Netanyahu accuses Erdogan of helping ´terrorists´

PARIS: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday hit back at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who had earlier labelled Israel a "terrorist state”, calling him a leader who had dropped bombs on Kurdish villagers and supports terrorists.

Addressing a joint presser alongside French President Emmanuel Macron here, Netanyahu said: "I am not used to receiving lectures about morality from a leader who bombs Kurdish villagers in his native Turkey, who jails journalists, who helps Iran get around international sanctions, and who helps terrorists, including in Gaza, kill innocent people."

The Israeli prime minister said: "That is not the man who is going to lecture us."

Earlier in the day, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkey’s president had termed Israel as a "terrorist state", vowing to use "all means to fight" against the US recognition of Al-Quds as the country´s capital.

Addressing people in the central city of Sivas, Erdogan said: "Palestine is an innocent victim... As for Israel, it is a terrorist state, yes, terrorist!"

He vowed not to abandon Al-Quds to the mercy of a state that kills children.

His speech came days after US President Donald Trump recognised Al-Quds as the capital of Israel, angering Palestinians and sparking protests in Muslim and Arab countries.