Donald Tusk has called Turkey’s comparisons between the Dutch government and Nazis “completely detached from reality” as a diplomatic row continues to escalate on the day of Netherlands’ election.

“Rotterdam, the city of Erasmus, was totally destroyed by the Nazis, [and] now has a mayor born in Morocco,” the European Council President said.

“If any anyone sees fascism in Rotterdam, they are completely detached from reality.”

Hundreds of pro-Turkey protesters clash with police in Rotterdam

The European Commission President, Jean Claude Juncker, told the European Parliament he was "scandalised" by the Turkish accusations.

"My home country, Luxembourg, was occupied by the Nazis," he said. "Our people were suffering. My father was forced into the German army together with his three brothers.

"If you are establishing a comparison of that period with our times, this is totally unacceptable – and the one who is doing this is taking distance from Europe and not trying to enter the European Union,“ he added, referring to Turkey’s faltering attempts to join the bloc.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government have directed repeated allegations of Nazism at the Dutch government after rallies by ministers attempting to drum up support for a constitutional referendum were cancelled.

As with similar incidents in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, safety concerns were cited as the main reason for stopping a planned event featuring foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Rotterdam on Saturday.

But the row escalated after Dutch authorities withdrew permission for his plane to land in the country, saying his visit would “contribute to tensions in society” while Mr Cavusoglu slammed the Netherlands as the “capital of fascism”.

Turkish hackers spread the accusations across high profile Twitter accounts on Wednesday morning, posting pro-Erdogan messages and a link to the President speaking from accounts including Unicef USA, Amnesty International, BBC North America, Forbes and Justin Bieber’s Japanese account.

Protestors at a Saturday night demonstration in front of the consulate of the Netherlands in Istanbul (Getty Images)

“A little bit of an Ottoman Slap to you, see you on 16 April,” read the identical tweets, using the hashtags #NaziGermany and #NaziHolland.

Twitter has revoked access to an Amsterdam-based third party application that was compromised in the cyber attack, with Twitter Counter starting its own investigation.

The dispute has sparked protests in Turkey and across Europe, while Turkish-backed rebels in Syria put out a video accusing the Dutch government of being swayed by the ideology of Geert Wilders’ “xenophobic and racist” Party for Freedom (PVV).

A protester scaled the Dutch consulate in Istanbul and replaced the national flag with the Turkish banner during demonstrations on Sunday, while Turkish protesters have been photographed stabbing oranges and holding signs reading “fascist Holland”.

Mr Erdogan has also accused the Dutch of failing to prevent the Srebrenica massacre in the row, which has seen Turkey repeat threats to scrap a deal struck with the EU last year to slow the flow of refugees to Greece.

Ankara also halted high-level talks with Dutch government officials on Monday and closed its airspace to the country’s diplomats, making good on a promise to impose retaliatory sanctions.

Nazi allegations were initially levelled at the German government by Mr Erdogan after several cities cancelled planned rallies.

In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Show all 17 1 /17 In pictures: Turkey coup attempt In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish President Erdogan attends the funeral service for victims of the thwarted coup in Istanbul at Fatih mosque on July 17, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey Burak Kara/Getty Images In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Soldiers involved in the coup attempt surrender on Bosphorus bridge with their hands raised in Istanbul on 16 July, 2016 Gokhan Tan/Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt A civilian beats a soldier after troops involved in the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, 16 July, 2016 REUTERS/Murad Sezer In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Surrendered Turkish soldiers who were involved in the coup are beaten by a civilian Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Soliders involved in the coup attempt surrender on Bosphorus bridge Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wave flags as they capture a Turkish Army vehicle Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt People pose near a tank after troops involved in the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, 16 July, 2016 Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers block Istanbul's Bosphorus Brigde Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt A Turkish military stands guard near the Taksim Square in Istanbul Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Pierre Crom/Twitter In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers secure the area as supporters of Recep Tayyip Erdogan protest in Istanbul's Taksim square AP In pictures: Turkey coup attempt People demonstrate in front of the Republic Monument at the Taksim Square in Istanbul Murad Sezer/Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers detain police officers during a security shutdown of the Bosphorus Bridge Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish Army armoured personnel carriers in the main streets of Istanbul Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Chaos reigned in Istanbul as tanks drove through the streets EPA/TOLGA BOZOGLU In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks to media in the resort town of Marmaris Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Supporters of President Erdogan celebrate in Ankara following the suppression of the attempted coup Reuters

Angela Merkel’s government says it will not impose a blanket ban on campaigning by Turkish ministers but reserves the right to deny entry as a "last resort".

At least four German local authorities have withdrawn permission for pro-Erdogan campaign events, as well as areas of Austria and Switzerland.

Allies of the Turkish President are targeting more than a million Turkish voters living in Europe who will be eligible to cast a ballot in the vote on 16 April.

The referendum could see Turkey’s parliamentary system replaced with an executive presidency using constitutional amendments that have alarmed human rights groups by granting sweeping powers to Mr Erdogan.

All rally cancellations have cited safety and administrative issues but were linked to concern over a crackdown seeing thousands of people detained in Turkey following an attempted coup in July.

Anti-Islam politician Mr Wilders has attempted to capitalise on the controversy, leading a small protest outside the country's embassy and calling Mr Erdogan a “dictator”.