This is the moment Turkey’s president slaps a child on stage for not kissing his hand after he extended it.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was attending the opening ceremony of the Aider Plateau Protection and Renewal Project in the northern province of Rize on July 27 when the incident took place.
During the event, where the president was seen handing over keys to the new owners of houses rebuilt as part of a housing development project, two young men appeared on stage to greet the president after he made a brief speech.
In the viral images, Erdogan is seen extending his hand towards the two children so they could kiss it, but one hesitated for a moment as he looked at the president.
Onlookers were left in shock as Erdogan quickly flicked his wrist and slapped the little boy across the face, before returning to his position and awaiting his kiss.
Turkey’s president has sparked an online controversy after being seen slapping a child at a ceremony in northern Rize.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan hit the boy when he did not kiss his hand after he extended it to him on stage.
The boy seemed to laugh after the slap, but continued to stare at the president for a moment before finally giving him a kiss on the top of his hand.
Erogan, seemingly forgiving the boy’s behavior, gave both boys some money as a gift and hugged them before they left the stage.
Although the boy did not seem fazed by the slap, the gesture sparked a debate on social media with some users criticising the Turkish leader’s behaviour.
One wrote: ‘I wonder how he treats people behind closed doors if he can do that on camera.’
Another said: “That’s disgusting on Erdogan’s part.”
“This world makes me sicker every day,” commented a third.
However, some users defended the president’s actions, explaining that kissing the hand of an elderly person is a sign of respect in Turkish culture.
One user said: “I love it. Kissing the hand of your elders, parents and grandparents is a sign of respect, especially in Turkey.
“If you don’t, you get corrected, especially at a young age.”
But this is not the first time Erdogan has been criticised for such an incident.
Earlier, the leader slapped a child who asked for his autograph on a Turkish national team shirt.
In 2021, at the opening of the Salarkha tunnel in Rize, Erdogan was seen hitting a child on the head after he waved the ribbon.
And last year, the president publicly slapped his grandson, but later claimed he was “petting” him, according to reports.
This comes after Erdogan grabbed headlines on Sunday for issuing an open threat to invade Israel in support of Palestine.
“We have to be very strong so that Israel cannot do these things to Palestine,” Erdogan said, referring to the war against Hamas in Gaza.
“Just as we went into Nagorno-Karabakh and Libya, we can do the same with them. There is nothing we cannot do. We just have to be strong.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Recep Tayyip Erdogan in September 2023
Yesterday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz demanded that NATO expel Turkey over Erdogan’s threats to send troops to Israel.
“In the face of Turkish President Erdogan’s threats to invade Israel and his dangerous rhetoric, Foreign Minister Israel Katz instructed diplomats… to urgently engage in dialogue with all NATO members, calling for condemnation of Turkey and demanding its expulsion from the regional alliance,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders, whose party is the largest in the Netherlands, called Erdogan “Islamofascist” and “totally crazy” in a social media post on Sunday after the president’s comment, adding that Turkey “should be kicked out of NATO.”
Wilders has long called for expelling Turkey from NATO, even though the country joined the alliance in 1952 and has the world’s second-largest military.
Erdogan’s comments come after he earlier called on the Islamic world to take action against Israel.
In May he said: “I have a few words to say to the Islamic world: what are you waiting for to make a common decision?”
“Israel is not only a threat to Gaza but to all humanity,” he said.
“No state is safe as long as Israel does not respect international law and does not feel bound by it,” Erdogan added, repeating the accusation that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza.
He also called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “vampire” and accused him of killing “innocent civilians in their shops.”
Türkiye has also suspended all trade with Israel due to its ongoing offensive in Gaza.
NATO does not have a specific mechanism for suspending or expelling a member, although members can withdraw voluntarily.