Erdogan said, “Israel is implementing a strategy of total annihilation of a city and its people. I say very clearly and frankly that Israel is a terrorist state.”…reports Asian Lite News
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday lashed out at Israel over its air and ground campaign in Gaza during a visit to Germany, saying that attacks on children and hospitals had no place in the Jewish holy book.
“Shooting hospitals or killing children does not exist in the Torah, you can’t do it,” Erdogan said at a media appearance with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Erdogan, in a recent speech to his ruling party, branded Israel as a “terrorist state”, CNN reported.
Erdogan said, “Israel is implementing a strategy of total annihilation of a city and its people. I say very clearly and frankly that Israel is a terrorist state.”
The Turkish President also vowed to take steps to ensure that Israel’s political and military leaders face trial in international courts for their actions in Gaza. “We will take steps to ensure that Israel’s political and military leaders who brutally murdered the oppressed people of Gaza will face trial in international courts,” he said, according to CNN.
Responding to Erdogan’s remarks, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired back on social media platform X, accusing Erdogan of supporting the “terror state of Hamas.”
Netanyahu emphasised, “By contrast, there are forces that support the terrorists. One of them is President Erdogan of Turkey, who calls Israel a terrorist state, but supports the terror state of Hamas and bombed Turkish villages inside Turkey itself. So, we’re not going to get any lectures from them.”
Erdogan didn’t stop there, accusing Netanyahu of threatening Gaza with nuclear bombs. He warned, “I am telling Netanyahu, you have atomic bombs, nuclear bombs and you are threatening with them. We know this. And your end is near. You can have as many nuclear bombs as you want. No matter what you have, you are on your way out.”
Erdogan had cancelled a planned visit to Israel the previous month, asserting that Turkey has “no problem with the Israeli state; however, Ankara would never approve of Tel Aviv committing atrocities,” according to CNN.
ALSO READ-Erdogan Supports Hamas, Labels Israel as ‘Terrorist’