Türkiye will never leave Palestine alone: Erdoğan

RİZE

Türkiye will never abandon Palestinians and protecting them in Gaza from the Israeli atrocities is its obligation, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said.

“We have never left our brothers in Gaza unprotected, helpless and alone, and we never will,” Erdoğan said in his address during a visit to the Black Sea coastal town of Rize on Nov. 5.

Erdoğan referred to the ongoing offensive by the Israeli security forces against the civilians in Gaza Strip in response to the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. As a result of Israel’s operations, more than 8,000 people with most of them being children and women were killed in Gaza.

“It is our duty to save our Palestinian brothers from Israeli oppression and to stop the massacres committed in Gaza before the eyes of the world,” Erdoğan suggested. “It is our historical obligation to expose the crimes of those who committed this immoral, unscrupulous, despicable massacre to those who support them.”

Erdoğan recalled that it is also Türkiye’s moral duty to protect the holy sites in Jerusalem, including Harem-I Şerif and other venues.

“It must be known that we, in fact, are doing more than meets the eye regarding the Palestinian issues and what is happening in Gaza. And we’ll continue to do so,” he said.

Türkiye is sitting in the center of the circle of fire, Erdoğan said, if peace and stability are to prevail in the Black Sea in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war it will be thanks to Türkiye’s efforts. “Over the 21 years of our rule, we have gained the experience of tackling all these conflicts and bringing about mechanisms to take care of them,” Erdoğan said.

President Erdoğan, on his return from the summit of the Organization of the Turkic States over the weekend, has assessed the ongoing developments in the war between Israel and Hamas.

“Israel has taken a very wrongful step. With this step, it has darkened its own future,” Erdoğan said, blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the continued offensive against the Palestinians. “He is being judged by the world politics as well. More importantly, 121 countries stood against Israel in the vote for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza."

Erdoğan underlined that Türkiye will no longer contact Netanyahu as his name is crossed of in Türkiye, informing about the works of the Foreign Ministry to carry all these atrocities and war crimes to the International Criminal Court.

'Özel not better than Kılıçdaroğlu'

Meanwhile, Erdoğan also addressed the recent vote within the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) to replace longtime leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu with veteran lawmaker Özgür Özel.

The president commented on Kılıçdaroğlu and Özel's speeches at the congress.

"Who did he [Kılıçdaroğlu] say bye-bye to? He said bye to [former Democratic Peoples' Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin] Demirtaş, the terrorist leader in Edirne [prison]. He said bye to [jailed businessman Osman] Kavala," Erdoğan remarked.

"And the one who won the congress, who did he salute? He also greeted Selahattin Demirtaş and Kavala," he continued.

Erdoğan concluded with his perspective on the change in the CHP leadership. "One is no better than the other. Are they different from each other? No," he said.