Erdoğan vows to keep Israel’s nuclear weapons on world’s agenda

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed to keep Israeli nuclear weapons on the global agenda, criticizing the international institutions for not launching an investigation even though Israeli officials have admitted to possessing such weapons.

“Israel openly admits and confesses to having nuclear weapons but neither the United Nations Security Council nor the International Atomic Energy Agency launches an investigation. The nuclear weapons issue is not an ordinary issue on which one can just remain silent. Those who don’t speak out against Israel today cannot criticize other countries in the future,” Erdoğan said following the cabinet meeting late on Nov. 21.

Erdoğan referred to a senior Israeli minister who threatened to use nuclear weapons against Hamas in its ongoing offensive on Gaza, which has already killed more than 13,000 people, mostly children and women.

Erdoğan underlined that Türkiye will not allow the issue of Israel’s nuclear weapons to be dropped from the global agenda. “We are no longer surprised by the backing provided to Israel’s lies by those who had occupied Iraq under the pretext of nuclear and chemical weapons,” he said.

Israel is not a party to the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty, but it is believed that it possesses nuclear weapons.

Another issue Türkiye has brought to the fore is the fact that Palestinian lands have been stolen by Israelis, as stated under the continued settlement policy. “As a result of our country’s efforts during the Riyadh summit, we have taken important decisions regarding the designation of illegal settlers as terrorists, the monitoring of war crimes and the issue of nuclear weapons. We will keep these topics on the agenda in the upcoming era as well,” Erdoğan said.

‘Israel’s attacks are barbarian’

Israel is not only killing civilian Gazan people but is trying to break their resilience by deliberately bombing hospitals and cutting off water and fuel supplies and communication, Erdoğan stated. “Since Oct. 7, a complete brutality is taking place in Gaza, a barbarity that is equal to what was experienced during the Crusader occupation a thousand years ago and in the Second World War 80 years ago.”

Stressing that what’s unfolding in Gaza can only be called barbarism and state terror, Erdoğan noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to win back his popularity in the eyes of the Israeli people by bombing places of worship, schools and hospitals.

“Hospitals, in particular, have become a symbol of Israel’s brutality. Almost all the hospitals operating in Gaza have either been destroyed, damaged, or rendered unusable,” he said.