Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Turkey of hypocrisy on Friday, saying Ankara continues to occupy territory in both Syria and Cyprus while criticising Israel’s military actions across the region.

Saar’s comments came in response to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who accused Israel of “destabilising Syria”.

Writing on X, Saar said the criticism came from “the same Turkish leadership that has been violating Syria’s sovereignty for decades, while delivering cynical lessons in international law to others”.

Referring to Cyprus, Saar said “Turkey continues to maintain troops in the island’s occupied north” while also carrying out military operations inside Syria and Iraq.

He claimed Turkey occupies around five per cent of Syrian territory in the formerly held Kurdish north and is seeking to establish military bases inside the country, arguing that the objective is to undermine Israel’s security.

By comparison, he said Israel controls only around 0.1 per cent of Syrian territory, that of Golan Heights, and described its presence as a security measure after “Syrian terrorists” entered the demilitarised zone in December 2024 in breach of the 1974 Israel Syria disengagement agreement.

“What Fidan wants is for Israel to stop protecting itself from threats to its security. That is not going to happen,” Saar said.