Turkey\u2019s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned Israel\u2019s blockade and bombing of the besieged Gaza Strip, calling it a “massacre.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Speaking to the members of his ruling AK Party in parliament on Wednesday, Erdogan said even war had a “morality,\u201d but the flare-up since the weekend had \u201cvery severely\u201d violated that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u201cPreventing people from meeting their most fundamental needs and bombing housing where civilians live\u2014in short, conducting a conflict using every sort of shameful method\u2014is not a war; it\u2019s a massacre,\u201d he said, referring to Israel cutting off electricity and water to Gaza and destroying infrastructure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe openly oppose the killing of civilians on Israeli territories. Likewise, we can never accept the massacre of defenseless innocents in Gaza by indiscriminate, constant bombardments,\u201d Erdogan said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
At least 1,055 Palestinians have been killed and thousands wounded in Israeli bombardments on Gaza since Saturday, when the Palestinian armed group Hamas launched an unprecedented raid inside Israel. At least 1,200 Israelis have also been killed and more than 100 taken hostage in the ongoing conflict.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Israel has put Gaza under \u201ctotal siege\u201d to stop food and fuel from reaching the enclave of 2.3 million people, many of whom are poor and dependent on aid. The Gaza administration said on Wednesday that electricity went out after the only power station stopped working.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Erdogan said Israel\u2019s repressive policies towards the Palestinians lay at the heart of the conflict. \u201cIsrael should not forget that if it acts like an organization, not as a state, it will eventually come to be seen as one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Erdogan criticized Israel\u2019s \u201cdisproportionate\u201d attacks on Gaza as \u201cdevoid of any ethical foundation” and called on the world not to \u201cblindly\u201d take one side. Leaving the underlying issue unresolved would lead to new, more violent conflicts, he warned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe call on countries in the Americas, Europe, and other regions to take up a position between the parties that is fair, just, and based on humanitarian balances. Everyone should refrain from acts that will wholly punish the Palestinian people, like blocking humanitarian aid,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Turkey, which has backed Palestinians in the past and hosted members of Hamas, has been working to mend ties with Israel after years of animosity. Unlike the European Union and the United States, Turkey does not consider Hamas a \u201cterrorist\u201d organization.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Ankara has offered to mediate in the ongoing conflict, with Erdogan and his foreign minister holding calls with regional powers, the US, and others. However, Israel\u2019s envoy to Ankara said it was too early to discuss mediation.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Turkey\u2019s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned Israel\u2019s blockade and bombing of the besieged Gaza Strip, calling it a “massacre.” Speaking to the members of his ruling AK Party in parliament on Wednesday, Erdogan said even war had a “morality,\u201d but the flare-up since the weekend had \u201cvery severely\u201d violated that. \u201cPreventing people from meeting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4436","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics"},"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n