Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a scathing statement against Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as tensions between the two countries escalate following Israel’s strike in Syria and Turkey’s issuance of an arrest warrant against Netanyahu.

Erdogan “is now seeking to expand his aggression against Israel into Syria. Israel will not tolerate this,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement, in the latest exchange of attacks following an Israeli strike on a Syrian air base, which Israel confirmed, citing concerns over the possible deployment of Turkish troops in the area.

“He Is an Antisemitic Dictator”

Netanyahu’s office repeated earlier Israeli accusations against Erdogan, describing him as an “antisemitic dictator who has massacred Kurds, hosts Hamas terrorists, occupies half of Cyprus, and jails a record number of journalists and opposition politicians.”

The statement was released just hours after Turkey issued an international arrest warrant for Netanyahu, as part of an investigation into Israel’s interception of an activist flotilla headed for Gaza.

“Erdogan’s pathetic attempt to intimidate Israel’s leadership and soldiers, the only true democracy in the Middle East, will lead nowhere,” the statement added.

In a separate statement in Hebrew, the prime minister’s office said Israel would continue to act decisively against Turkey’s efforts to destabilize the region and against any threat to its security.

Once-close relations between Turkey and Israel have collapsed since the war in Gaza began.