Erdogan Equates Death Penalty for Palestinian Detainees with Hitler's Policies
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned Israel’s Knesset decision to impose the death penalty on Palestinian detainees. Erdogan equates this death penalty with Adolf Hitler’s policies towards Jews in the Nazi era.
“What is being done is discrimination; it is racism. It means implementing in Israel a version worse than the apartheid regime that was toppled in South Africa in 1994,” said Erdogan during a speech at the Women’s Wing meeting of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), as reported by Anadolu Agency on Saturday (11/4/2026).
“Is there a fundamental difference between Hitler’s horrific policies towards the Jewish people and the decision adopted with great fanfare by Israel’s parliament?” Erdogan questioned in his statement.
“Isn’t all this a new manifestation of the policy of denial, destruction, oppression, and political execution against the Palestinian people?” he added.
Erdogan stated that imposing the death penalty only on Palestinian detainees is tantamount to “apartheid” and turns the law into an “instrument of racist fascism”.
Erdogan mentioned that the Middle East region, including Turkey, has experienced painful, difficult, and dark times in recent years. Conflicts continue to occur one after another, such as in the Gaza Strip, Syria, Iran, and Lebanon.
He alluded to Israel’s increased bombings against Lebanon, which serves as a base for the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, following a ceasefire agreed upon by the United States (US) and Iran this week. From all these conflicts, children and women have become numerous victims.
“This network of genocide, blinded by blood and hatred, continues to kill innocent children and women,” Erdogan stated.
There has been no direct response from Israel regarding Erdogan’s latest comments.
At the end of March, Israel’s parliament passed a controversial law imposing the death penalty on Palestinian detainees proven guilty of what is termed “terrorist acts”. This law applies to Palestinian detainees residing in areas controlled by Israel.
The law establishes the death penalty by hanging as the standard punishment for Palestinian detainees from the Israeli-occupied West Bank who are proven to have committed murders against Israeli citizens or acts of terrorism.
The law has been strongly condemned by Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups. They consider the law racist, cruel, and unlikely to prevent Palestinians from taking action against the occupation.
The law faces legal challenges in Israel’s Supreme Court, with leading Israeli human rights groups announcing they have filed a petition with the country’s Supreme Court to oppose the law.