ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday accused Western powers of backing what he said were Israeli plans to attack Lebanon and “spread war” throughout the region.

“Israel is now setting its sights on Lebanon and we see that Western powers behind the scenes are patting Israel on the back and even supporting them,” he told lawmakers from his ruling AKP party.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu’s plans to spread the war to the region will lead to a great disaster,” he said.

“It is ... pathetic that states that talk about freedom, human rights and justice are captives of a mentally-ill person like Netanyahu.”

His remarks came as concern soared over escalating threats and ongoing cross-border exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah, fuelling fears it could descend into fully-fledged war.

The Lebanon border violence erupted after Hamas militants staged an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, triggering a massive Israeli retaliatory operation, which is ongoing.