Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is committing a genocide in Gaza” to prolong his career following his government’s failure to prevent the 7 October attack, Middle East Eye reports.

“The reality is that Netanyahu is committing this genocide to prolong his political life and avoid prosecution,” Erdogan said in a statement given to journalists who accompanied him during a state visit to Greece.

“As you know, Netanyahu was in a judicial process, and there were even rumours that convictions would be given against him. During such a period, Israel’s attack on Gaza broke out,” he added.

“Now he is prolonging this process with the thought that ‘the longer these attacks go on, the more I can save myself from being tried’,” he said.