IRIA News

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called Israel a “terror state” and blamed the country for committing war crimes in Gaza. While addressing the parliament members of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party), Erdogan said that Israeli leaders should be tried for war crimes at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Erdogan said in Turkish parliament, “I say clearly that Israel is a terror state,” adding that Israel’s armed forces’ campaign against the Palestinians is “the most treacherous attacks in human history” with “unlimited” support from the Western countries.

“With the savagery of bombing the civilians it forced out of their homes while they are relocating, it is literally employing state terrorism…I am now saying, with my heart at ease, that Israel is a terror state,” Erdogan added.

The Turkish president also blamed the U.S. and its Western allies for supporting Israel’s atrocities. He underscored, “While we curse the Israeli administration, we do not forget those who openly support these massacres and those who go out of their way to legitimize them,” adding that “The West, namely the United States, is unfortunately still seeing this issue backwards.”

Turkey’s Erdogan also said that the Hamas group is not a terrorist organization but a political party fighting for the rights of Palestinians. “We will never shy away from voicing the truth that Hamas members protecting their lands, honor, and lives in the face of occupation policies are resistance fighters, just because some people are uncomfortable with it,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan has made bold remarks against the State of Israel after its military forces entered the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza threatening the lives of thousands of trapped civilians and children inside the hospital complex.

Soon after the Israeli forces started bombing the civilians in response to the October 7 attack, Turkiye withdrew its diplomats from Israel. Erdogan stated that his government would take necessary steps to ensure that Israeli settlers in occupied Palestinian territories are recognized as “terrorists”.

In response to Erdogan’s remarks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he would not be “morally lectured” by Erdogan and claimed that the Turkish president supports “the terrorist state Hamas”. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid also said, “We won’t take lessons in morality from President Erdoğan, a man with an appalling human rights record.”

Some Western leaders have also criticized Israel for conducting raids in Gaza that resulted in the deaths of thousands of children and women.

On November 14, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged the Israeli government to stop “killing babies” and exercise maximum restraint in its war on Gaza. Trudeau said, “The world is witnessing this killing of women, of children, of babies,” and called Israel to stop its aggressive campaign in Gaza.

French President Emmanuel Macron also urged the West to stop double standards, and said, “We condemn with the greatest firmness all bombings of civilians, in particular of civilian infrastructure which must be protected under our international law and humanitarian law.”

Earlier this week, UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ spokesperson also issued a statement saying that the secretary-general is “deeply disturbed by the horrible situation and dramatic loss of life” reported in Gaza’s medical facilities.

WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris described the situation at Al-Shifa Hospital as dire. The hospital is a focus of operations by the Israeli Defense Forces which claim that Hamas had established a command center under the medical facility, an allegation that has been denied by the medical staff.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, “More aid workers have been killed in recent weeks than in any comparable period in the history of our organization.” He called for a humanitarian ceasefire and respect for international law, including the protection of civilians, hospitals, UN facilities, shelters, and schools.