Israel has condemned remarks made by Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan concerning the Hamas militant group.
Earlier on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, Erdogan called Hamas a liberation group.
“Hamas is not a terrorist organisation, it is a liberation group … waging a battle to protect its lands and people,” Erdogan said.
Lior Haiat, Spokesperson for the Israeli foreign ministry, posted on X, “Israel wholeheartedly rejects the Turkish President’s harsh words about the terrorist organisation Hamas.”
“Hamas is … worse than ISIS, that brutally and intentionally murders babies, children, women and the elderly, takes civilians hostage and uses its own people as human shields,” Haiat said.
Haiat added, “Even the Turkish President’s attempt to defend the terrorist organisation and his inciting words will not change the horrors the whole world has seen.”
Matteo Salvini, a far-right Italian politician, also condemned Erdogan’s comments.
Salvini described Erdogan’s description as “disgusting.”
He called on Italy’s Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani to formally summon the Turkish Ambassador to Italy.
Speaking in Ankara, Erdogan also confirmed that he has cancelled his upcoming trip to Israel given the situation in Gaza.
While calling on world powers to pressure Israel to stop the bombardment in Gaza, Erdogan asserted that Muslim nations working in unison will help lead to peace and ceasefire.
He said countries outside the region were “adding fuel to fire” in the name of supporting Israel.
Erdogan also described Israel’s action in the beseiged enclave as one of the “bloodiest, most disgusting and most savage attack in history.”
“We have no problem with the Israeli state, but we never have, and never will, accept the atrocities committed by Israel and the fact that it acts as an organisation rather than a state.”
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Jordan King Iterates Call For End Of War
Also on Tuesday, King Abdullah II of Jordan called for the international community to pressure Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza and end its siege of 2.3 million Palestinians.
He said, “stopping the war on Gaza is an absolute necessity, and the world must move immediately in this direction.”
“We are against any attempt by Israel to create an exodus of Palestinians or internally displace the inhabitants of Gaza,” King Abdullah said.
He warned the conflict “may lead to an explosion of the situation in the region.”
Jordan, which borders the occupied West Bank to the west, absorbed the majority of Palestinians who fled or were driven out of their homes during the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi cautioned his military against any direct involvement in Israel’s war on Gaza.
“My message to the army and people is not to make your military power make you rush into wrong decisions,” el-Sisi said in the port city of Suez.
The President added that the Egyptian army has a history of dealing with crises “rationally and with patience.”
Egypt has criticised Israel over its bombardment of Gaza, accusing it of trying to push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians onto its territory and nullify Palestinians’ demand for statehood.
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