Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned Israel’s attack on Palestinians as the “worst barbarity of the century”. He reiterated his condemnation of Israel at a joint press conference held in Ankara with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday.
“For the past 151 days, we have seen the worst brutality of the century,” Erdogan said at the press conference, according to Turkish media Anadolu.
Accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of carrying out a brutal massacre of Palestinians, Erdogan said, “This is happening with the unlimited support of Western powers.”
The Turkish leader said, “Netanyahu and his associates must answer for every drop of blood before the law and the people.” He also condemned the actions of Israeli settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories. He said, “Forcible seizure of Palestinian land is the main obstacle to the solution.”
Condemning the “totally absurd” demands of “extremist Israeli politicians” to restrict Muslim access to Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, he stressed the importance of providing access to religious sites for people of all faiths.
Erdogan also criticized Israel’s efforts to discredit the United Nations Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA). “Tel Aviv’s efforts to discredit the organization with ‘lies and slander’ should not be given credibility,” he insisted. The existence of the organization should not be undermine.
A number of countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany and Canada, announced the suspension of funding to UNRWA on suspicion of collusion with the Palestinian armed group Hamas.
On October 7, the commissioner general of the organization, Filippo Lazzarini, fired several employees of the organization who were accused of being involved in the Israeli attack.
For a peaceful solution, Erdoğan said, “The only way to lasting peace is to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital according to the 1967 borders.”
He expressed Turkey’s strong position on behalf of Palestine on the Israeli-Palestinian issue and called for international support for a peaceful solution to the conflict.