Turkish PM compares Netanyahu to Paris attackers

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday accused his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu of committing "crimes against humanity" comparable to those of the Islamist gunmen behind the Paris attacks that left 17 dead.

Davutoglu's comments risk enflaming a new row in the increasingly tense relationship after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blasted Netanyahu for "daring" to attend the weekend's anti-terror solidarity march in Paris after the attacks.

"Netanyahu has committed crimes against humanity the same as those terrorists who carried out the Paris massacre," he told reporters in Ankara in televised comments.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu speaks during a parliamentary group meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara on January 13, 2015 ©Adem Altan (AFP)

Davutoglu sniped that Netanyahu had looked "alone" at the Paris march against terrorism, where the Turkish and Israeli prime ministers had joined other world leaders in a show of solidarity.

A statement by the Turkish presidency said Netanyahu had staged "a miserable political show" by attending the rally and had sought to exploit the event for "his own political purposes".

"The Israeli government should abandon its aggressive and racist policies, instead of attacking others under the pretext of anti-Semitism," presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said in the statement.

Responding to the latest broadsides from Ankara, Netanyahu said he had still not heard international condemnation of "these intolerable comments".

"If the international community does not take a clearer position on the side of those fighting terror then the wave of attacks risks continuing," he said in Jerusalem according to his press office.

The row comes on top of a controversy in Turkey over the publication of cartoons in the local media showing the cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed from the first issue of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo since 12 people were killed at its offices in the attacks.

Davutoglu condemned the publication of cartoons of the Muslim prophet as an "open provocation", warning that Turkey would not tolerate insults against Mohammed.

"Freedom of the press does not mean freedom to insult," said Davutoglu. "We do not allow any insult to the prophet in this country."

Istanbul prosecutors subsequently announced an investigation into two commentators writing for daily newspaper Cumhuriyet, Ceyda Karan and Hikmet Cetinkaya, who illustrated their columns on Wednesday with the controversial Mohammed cartoon.

- 'Neighbourhood bully' -

Davutoglu said Netanyahu's "crimes against humanity" included the deadly 2010 Israeli assault on a Turkish aid vessel and last year's onslaught on Hamas-controlled Gaza.

In 2010, Israeli commandos stormed the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, the largest ship in an aid flotilla for the besieged Gaza Strip.

Nine Turks died in the raid and one more died in hospital in 2014 after four years in a coma. Meanwhile nearly 2,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed in Israel's offensive on Gaza earlier last year.

Davutoglu said Netanyahu was "the head of a government which massacred children playing in the beaches in Gaza and destroyed thousands of houses".

He said the Israeli government "made almost natural the killing of Palestinians at every opportunity."

It had also "massacred our citizens by launching an operation against an aid ship in international waters."

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday condemned Erdogan as a "anti-Semitic neighbourhood bully" and called on Europe to do more to fight against his rhetoric.

"The silence of those European states in the face of the repeated outbursts against Israel by Erdogan... contributes to the same murderous hatred of Jews in Europe," he said.

Davutoglu said he "would not even bother to answer Lieberman", adding Turkey had a proud record of hosting Jews dating back to giving sanctuary to those expelled from Spain in the 15th century.

Turkey's relations with Israel -- once a key partnership for the Jewish state with a Muslim nation -- have steadily deteriorated under Erdogan's rule.

The fraying ties has exasperated the United States, which is keen for key NATO member Turkey to have a close military relationship with Israel.

The Turkish president is known for his angry outbursts at the Jewish state, declaring in July that Israel had "surpassed Hitler in barbarism".

In 2009, Erdogan walked off the stage at the World Economic Forum after an angry exchange with the then Israeli president Shimon Peres.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) came in for a fierce attack from Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who accused him of crimes against humanity ©Matthieu Alexandre (Pool/AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) stands among a row of leaders taking part in a unity rally in Paris on January 11, 2015 in tribute to the 17 victims of a three-day Islamist killing spree ©Philippe Wojazer (Pool/AFP/File)