Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the international community is not near a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
“We are far from an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza,” Erdogan replied to a question by Greek Reporter after his keynote speech at the UN General Assembly taking place in New York.
Erdogan quashed optimism on Gaza ceasefire
The Turkish leader quashed the optimism expressed earlier by US President Joe Biden who expressed his determination to bring about a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas while also seeking to de-escalate tensions on Israel’s border with Lebanon.
But for those looking for specifics or new ideas amidst the latest escalation in Lebanon, his remarks mainly reiterated the US’s long-standing positions.
Instead, the elder statesmen tried to strike a note of optimism that a diplomatic solution was still possible there and in other conflicts.
“A full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest. Even as the situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible.”
Erdogan compares Netanyahu to Hitler
Earlier on Tuesday in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Erdogan reiterated his harsh criticism on Israel over its military campaign in the Gaza Strip and on the Western countries for their support to Israel.
“Along with children in Gaza, the United Nations system is also dying, the truth is dying, the values that the West claims to defend are dying, the hopes of humanity to live in a fairer world are dying one by one,” Erdogan said.
He urged the international community to stop “Netanyahu and his murder network,” comparing the prime minister to Adolf Hitler.
“Just as Hitler was stopped by the alliance of humanity 70 years ago, Netanyahu and his murder network must be stopped by the ‘alliance of humanity’,” he said.
He noted that Gaza has become the world’s largest graveyard for children and women as a result of Israel’s attacks.
“Children are not the only ones being killed, but moral values allegedly defended by the West are also dying in Gaza,” he said. Erdogan continued by calling on human rights organizations: “Aren’t those in Gaza and West Bank human beings?”
Saying that the U.N. was originally established to maintain international peace and security after World War II, in recent years, the global body has “been struggling to fulfill its founding mission and is gradually turning into a dysfunctional, unwieldy and inert structure.”
Highlighting the serious damage caused by Israeli attacks in Gaza, Erdogan said the blockaded Palestinian enclave has become the largest cemetery for women and children in the world, where over 17,000 children were targeted by Israeli bullets and bombs.
NATO member Turkey has condemned Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which came in retaliation for Palestinian militant group Hamas’ cross-border attack on October 7 last year. Turkey halted all trade with Israel and applied to join a genocide case against Israel at the World Court.
