Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel's Gaza campaign "barbaric,"

Thousands turned out to greet Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his return home from Davos, Switzerland, on Friday, a day after a heated exchange with Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres over Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

Erdogan stormed offstage during a debate at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Turkey, a predominantly Muslim nation, has long been the Jewish state's closest military and economic partner in the region, and Turkey recently mediated indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria.

Erdogan say to Peres. "My voice will not be that loud. You must know that. When it comes to killing -- you know killing very well. I know how you hit, kill children on the beaches."

"From now on, Davos is finished for me," Erdogan said. "I will not come back. You won't let people talk. You gave him 25 minutes, but you gave me 12 minutes. This is not right."

He then left the stage, complaining that Peres was receiving preferential treatment.