Turkey: Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, has called Israel a “terror state,” ahead of a planned visit to Germany.
Mr. Erdogan stated that Israel’s military campaign against the Palestinian armed group Hamas included “the most treacherous attacks in human history” with “unlimited” support from the West.
The President echoed Turkey’s and his own views that Hamas is not a terrorist organisation but a political party that won past elections and demanded that Israeli leaders stand trial for war crimes at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
According to the statement, unlike Turkey, the US, the European Union, Britain, and certain Arab states consider Hamas to be a terrorist group. Ankara welcomes a few Hamas members and supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“With the savagery of bombing the civilians it forced out of their homes while they are relocating, it is literally employing state terrorism. I am now saying, with my heart at ease, that Israel is a terror state,” Mr. Erdogan said.
“We will never shy away from voicing the truth that Hamas members protecting their lands, honour, and lives in the face of occupation policies are resistance fighters, just because some people are uncomfortable with it,” the President added.
Mr. Erdogan’s trip to Germany will be his first to a Western nation since Israel started bombarding Gaza on October 7 in retaliation for Hamas attacks.
Germany has expressed strong solidarity with Israel, while urging a focus on limiting the impact of military operations on Gaza’s civilian population.
Additionally, Mr. Erdogan called on Israeli Prime Minister Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu to declare whether or not Israel had nuclear weapons, adding that Mr. Netanyahu would soon be a “goner” from his position.
TRENDING | ASEAN defense chiefs call for end to fighting in Gaza
