NEW YORK, SEPT 15 – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday criticized the United Nations (UN) for not acting on Gaza, accusing Israel of turning the Palestinian territory into ‘the biggest grave for children and women in the world’.
He also lent support to Lebanon, where Israel has launched widespread attacks targeting Hezbollah, while criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for taking the Middle East region deeper into war.
“Not only children, but also the UN system is dying in Gaza,” Erdogan said at the UN General Assembly in New York.
“The truth is, the values that the West claims to defend are dying. I asked openly. Hey human rights organizations, aren’t those in Gaza and the West Bank human?”
Erdogan criticized the UN Security Council for failing to order a ceasefire, and repeatedly said “the world is bigger than five,” referring to the body’s five permanent members, including Israel’s strongest ally, the United States.
“UN Security Council, what are you waiting for to prevent the genocide in Gaza and to say ‘stop’ to this atrocity?” he said.
An outspoken critic of Israel’s attack on Gaza, Erdogan urged the international community to stop “Netanyahu and his network of killers,” comparing the prime minister to Nazi Germany’s Adolf Hitler.
“Therefore, just as Hitler was stopped by the humanitarian alliance 70 years ago, Netanyahu and his network of murderers must be stopped by the ‘humanitarian alliance’,” he said.
Regarding Israel’s wave of deadly attacks on Lebanon, the Turkiye leader said, “What are you waiting for to stop the chain of killings that endangers the lives of its own citizens along with the Palestinians and drags the entire region into war for its political prospects?”
Erdogan called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, where authorities say Israeli operations have killed at least 41,467 people since October 7.
“An immediate and permanent ceasefire must be achieved, the exchange of hostages must take place, and humanitarian aid must be delivered to Gaza in an unimpeded and uninterrupted manner,” he said. – AFP
