Netanyahu said that “hardly a day goes by without Erdogan calling for the annihilation of the State of Israel,” adding that Israel takes such statements very seriously.

“If we have learned one thing in the history of our people,” Netanyahu said, “it is that when someone says he intends to annihilate you, you take him seriously.”

The prime minister added that Israel will bring Erdogan’s statements to the attention of its American friends, stressing: “We are not ignoring this.”