Erdogan charges “war crimes” against Israel

With West Jerusalem expanding its operations in Gaza, the president of Turkey has become more vocal in his criticism of the Jewish state.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, declared at a rally on Saturday that his country would show the world proof of Israeli war crimes in Gaza. Erdogan has now allied with the “freedom fighters” in Hamas, despite his original positioning as a possible mediator between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Erdogan addressed thousands of pro-Palestinian protestors in Istanbul, calling Israel’s operation in Gaza “not defence, but an open, vicious massacre.”

He said, “Western leaders have not even called for a ceasefire, despite Israel’s open war crimes being committed for exactly 22 days.” Türkiye is compiling information in order to “present Israel to the world as a war criminal.”

The most recent statistics from the Gaza Health Ministry show that since the conflict started, Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have killed over 7,000 Palestinians, nearly 3,000 of them children. On Friday night, Israeli soldiers sent troops and tanks into the strip after drastically increasing their shelling of it.

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After Hamas fighters invaded Israeli towns and villages near the Gaza border on October 7, murdering around 1,400 people and taking about 250 captives, the Israeli air campaign started right away.

Erdogan declared he was “ready for all kinds of mediation, including prisoner exchange, if the parties request it” a few days after the incident. Erdogan urged moderation on both sides, but in the weeks that followed, he practically stopped talking about Israel.

The Israeli blockade of Gaza, which has kept food, water, medication, and energy from accessing the enclave, has been deemed “against the laws of war” by the Turkish president, who also charged Israel last week of “genocide” against the Palestinian people.

“Hamas is not a terrorist organisation, it is a group of freedom fighters,’mujahideen’ [holy warriors] waging a battle to protect its lands and people,” he declared in a speech to MPs on Wednesday. Erdogan added that the assault of Gaza was the reason he had to postpone his trip to Israel.