Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan has declared that Israel is a ‘terror state’ committing war crimes and violating international law in Gaza while insisting that Hamas gunmen are not terrorists but a ‘political party elected by Palestinians’.
In a speech to members of his party, Erdogan said Turkey would work to ensure that Israel’s political and military leaders are recognised as ‘terrorists’ and brought to trial in international courts.
He also said Israel was a ‘terrorists state’ intent on destroying Gaza along with the thousands of people who live in the besieged territory.
The Turkish leader also went on to describe Hamas gunmen, who rampaged through southern Israel and slaughtered 1,200 Israelis on October 7, as ‘resistance fighters’ trying to protect their lands and people.
He said Hamas was a political party that had been elected by Palestinians, while failing to mention there hasn’t been an election in Gaza since 2006 when Hamas beat Fatah, a secular movement. Since then, Hamas has essentially seized control and imposed authoritarian rule over the territory.
Speaking to lawmakers in parliament, Erdogan also called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to announce whether Israel had nuclear bombs or not and added that the Israeli premier was a ‘goner’ from his post.
Erdogan also increased his criticism of Israel as the IDF continued its bombardment of the Gaza Strip and stormed Gaza City’s main hospital where thousands remain trapped.
‘Israel is implementing a strategy of total destruction of a city and its people,’ Erdogan said. ‘I say openly that Israel is a terrorist state.’
More than 11,000 people have been killed in Gaza amid Israeli airstrikes in retaliation for Hamas’s massacre of 1,200 civilians in southern Israel. The IDF have accused Hamas of using civilians as ‘human shields’ as they hide in tunnels underneath hospitals and homes.
