Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has strongly condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank in an address to the United Nations General Assembly.
The speech prompted the Israeli delegation to walk out, while Palestinian representatives applauded Erdogan as he criticised Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza and the escalation of settler attacks in the occupied West Bank, reports Al Jazeera.
“With the support of [US President Donald] Trump, we contributed to a ceasefire. But despite this so-called ceasefire, more than 1,300 civilians have been murdered in Gaza,” he said.
Erdogan said Hamas and other Palestinian groups had accepted the second phase of the October ceasefire framework agreement, but “Israel is not putting an end to its actions in Gaza and the West Bank is going through the most challenging time as the illegal Israeli settlers occupy the region”.
He described Gaza as “the most inhumane, most shameful concentration camp of our time”.
“We face a genocidal mindset that can never get enough of killing. No one with humanity, mercy or conscience can turn a blind eye,” he added.
Absolutely right
Salman Shaikh, a former UN official who has spent time in Gaza and founded The Shaikh Group, backed Erdogan’s remarks, saying “Erdogan is absolutely right”.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Shaikh said the situation in the enclave was “very, very dire” and described Erdogan’s UNGA address as significant.
“What was significant in Erdogan’s speech was [this idea] that we can’t let what is happening in Gaza and the occupied West Bank become a normalised situation,” said Shaikh, adding that Turkiye is an “indispensable regional and international actor spanning many geographies and organisations”.
Erdogan also criticised the UN, saying it had failed to fulfil its responsibility to establish peace and stability in conflict zones.
“Eighty-one years ago, the United Nations was formed to preserve global peace and stability, but unfortunately, the UN has failed to fulfil its duty,” he said.
He said the UN had been pushed into “dysfunction” and was “bleeding out” in Palestine, Lebanon and Sudan.
Absence of Abbas
Erdogan also referred to the absence of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from the UN meeting of world leaders after the US denied him a visa to enter the country. It was the second time in two years that Abbas was denied a visa.
“Let it be known that although President Abbas is unable to be with us here in person, we will, as we did last year, continue to be the voice of a free and sovereign state of Palestine,” Erdogan said.
The Turkish president also spoke about Russia’s war in Ukraine and called for an end to the conflict.
“Our sincere hope is to end the Ukraine-Russia war by keeping Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty intact,” he said.
