Israel publishes map of territories it calls under Turkish occupation and accuses Ankara of “hypocrisy”

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday accused Turkey of "hypocrisy" after Ankara criticized Israel's military operations and released a map highlighting territories it said are under Turkish control.

In a post on social media the ministry asked rhetorically: "Turkey has the audacity to criticize Israel. But what are the facts on the ground?" and listed what it described as Turkish troop deployments, bases and positions beyond Turkey's borders.

Claims and percentages

The statement said thousands of Turkish soldiers are stationed outside Turkey and that Ankara maintains military bases and outposts in Cyprus, Syria and Iraq. It asserted that Turkey "occupies 36 percent of Cyprus, five percent of Syria and around 2,000 square kilometres of Iraq."

Israel's ministry contrasted that presence with its own holdings in Syria, saying Israel "temporarily controls 0.1 percent of Syrian territory" in what it called a "security zone" intended to "protect Israeli citizens."

The exchange followed Ankara's sharp condemnation of a Colombian statement described by Turkey as legitimizing Israel's occupation of the Golan Heights. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and effectively annexed the territory in 1981; the United Nations regards the area as occupied and continues to endorse the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement that established a UN-monitored buffer zone.

In its post Ankara urged the international community to fulfil its obligations and contribute to ending what it called the Israeli occupation in southern Syria, including the Golan Heights, and to halt actions it said undermine Syria's sovereignty and stability. Separately, the Turkish parliament has recently adopted a law described as historic to advance the peace process with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Photo: Икс / Israel Foreign Ministry