Israel’s Foreign Ministry accused Turkey of hypocrisy over its criticism of Israeli military operations, pointing to Turkey’s control of 36 per cent of Cyprus and its military presence in the region on Tuesday.

“Turkey has the audacity to criticise Israel. But what are the facts on the ground?” the ministry said in a social media post.

It said thousands of Turkish troops were stationed outside Turkey and that Ankara maintained military bases and outposts in Cyprus, Syria and Iraq.

The ministry said Turkey “occupies 36% of Cyprus, 5% of Syria and approximately 2,000 square kilometres of Iraq”.

The Israeli ministry contrasted Turkey’s military presence with its own deployment in Syria, saying Israel “temporarily controls 0.1 per cent of Syrian territory” in what it described as a “security zone” intended to “protect Israeli citizens”.

Israel’s captured the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau, from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and effectively annexed the territory in 1981.

The UN regards the territory as occupied and continues to support the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement, which established a UN monitored buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces.