Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that “if this rouge terrorist state of Israel is not stopped, it will set its eyes on Anatolia with its delusion of a promised land.” The President of Turkiye made his comment about Israel’s expansionist ambitions in his speech during a Justice and Development Party parliamentary group meeting in Ankara yesterday.
Middle East Monitor, June 11, 2024
Erdogan insisted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his partners in the genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will be held accountable for every drop of blood they spill. “Turkiye will ensure that the perpetrators of genocide face justice. Being targeted by Zionist killers is not something to fear or be ashamed of, but rather it is a badge of honour that we wear on our chests with pride.”
Speaking on the 76th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, Erdogan explained that 15 May is a significant day for his country and for Palestinians all over the world. “The Zionists began to occupy the land with British support after the Ottoman Empire was forced to withdraw from the land of Palestine. Zionist gangs and terrorist organisations committed mass murder, expelled the Palestinians from their homes, and forcibly displaced them.”
The Turkish president pointed out that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians took only the keys to their homes and headed to Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and other countries in the region, and lived a difficult life in refugee camps. “The condition of those who stayed was even worse than those who left. The State of Israel was established on 14 May, 1948, after which the policies of occupation and genocide continued as state policy.” Sooner or later, the Palestinians will return to their homes, he insisted, noting that the world will not enjoy peace without holding Israel accountable for the genocide in Gaza.
The whole world needs to accept this fact, added Erdogan. “No one should expect us to soften our words. They [Israelis] are as spoiled as they are barbaric. They killed people with the deadliest weapons, hunger and thirst. They took people out of their homes and directed them to supposedly safe areas. They massacred civilians in safe areas.”
He pointed out that even the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was not so bold, and did not publicise the inhuman Holocaust, which became a black stain on history.
Referring to Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, and his immature shredding of the UN Charter, Erdogan said, “Do you think you can get away with your actions by shredding the charter? You will pay the price for that.”
In closing, the Turkish president said: “They openly threaten professors and students who support Palestine, and they try to silence everyone by using the media and the pressure they have, thinking that people will be afraid and back down if they call them anti-Semitic.”