Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Sunday lashed out at Turkey's Interior Minister, Mustafa Ciftci, after the latter said he hoped to one day see Jerusalem "liberated" and revealed that he had prayed to serve as the city's governor, even if for a single day.
Katz's response came a day after Ciftci made the remarks during a visit to the central Turkish province of Corum, where he spoke about Jerusalem, whose eastern half has been occupied by Israel since 1967 and is regarded by Palestinians as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
"Just as we witnessed the liberation of Damascus, Aleppo and Karabakh, God willing, we will one day witness the liberation of Jerusalem," Ciftci said.
The Turkish minister also revealed a personal prayer he said he had made while serving as governor of Corum.
"I prayed to God to grant me the governance of Jerusalem, even for one day," he said.
The comments spread widely on Turkish social media, prompting Katz to launch a lengthy tirade in Turkish on X on Sunday.
Tagging Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ciftci and several prominent opposition politicians, Katz sought to ridicule the Turkish minister's remarks and accused Ankara of harbouring neo-Ottoman ambitions.
"To the Turkish interior minister who dreams of ruling Jerusalem and issues threats, I say: Jerusalem is not Constantinople, and the State of Israel is not a collapsing Crusader empire," Katz wrote.
He went on to describe Israel as a "strong state" capable of defending itself against any "threat". He also claimed that Jerusalem had been the capital of the "Jewish people" for "3,000 years" and would remain Israel's capital "forever".
Furthermore, Katz took aim at Erdogan , saying: "The Ottoman Empire that you and Erdogan dream about has collapsed and will never return."
The exchange is the latest public confrontation between Israeli and Turkish officials amid deep tensions over Israel's genocide in Gaza and the status of Jerusalem.
Katz, who has openly promoted genocidal policies in the Palestinian besieged enclave, had previously publicly called for cutting off water, electricity and fuel supplies to the enclave and backed plans critics say would amount to the forced displacement of Palestinians. Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 war and later annexed it in a move that has never been recognised by the United Nations or most countries around the world.
Palestinians regard East Jerusalem, home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, as occupied Palestinian territory and the capital of a future Palestinian state.
No official Turkish response to Katz's comments had been issued by the time of publication, although reactions from Turkish officials are expected.