Erdogan: Gaza cease-fire can save region from ring of fire
ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency
Sat / 18 November 2023 / 12:00
Thousands of Palestinian children, women, elderly have been killed, almost all of Gaza destroyed due to Israel's attacks, says Turkish president.
Tehran (ISNA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that if Türkiye and Germany jointly achieve a humanitarian cease-fire in the ongoing Israeli war in Gaza, the region can be rescued from the ring of fire.
Speaking at the joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Erdogan said 13,000 Palestinians -- including children, women and elderly people -- have been killed so far in the war and almost all of Gaza has been destroyed due to Israel's attacks on the besieged enclave.
"The period after Oct. 7 is not discussed at all. Can the weaponry and strength of the Hamas be compared to the arsenal and power of Israel?" he asked.
The support that should be given to Palestine itself is also not provided, said the Turkish president.
"Does Israel currently have nuclear weapons? Yes, but if you ask Israel, they won't admit it because they are very good at using lies.
"If our hands, arms and tongues remain tied, we cannot account before history. The Israeli-Palestinian war should not be judged using the psychology of indebtedness," he said as Anadolu Agency quoted.
Reminding that places of worship, churches, and hospitals are being targeted in Gaza, Erdogan said the Torah does not allow the bombing of hospitals and the killing of children.
"It is against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But as seen here, how are these children being shot? How are they being killed in hospitals?" he said. "We didn't put ourselves through something like the Holocaust. I made my stance on anti-Semitism as a prime minister."
Erdogan noted that German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will visit Israel soon and he will ask him to broker a cease-fire in Gaza.
He emphasized the significance of both countries' potential contributions to a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza and highlighted the importance of taking steps in this regard.
"The hostages and captives have been in Israel's hands for many years. We need to see this as well. It would be unjust if we did not notice this," he said.
Türkiye has not condoned attacks targeting civilians since the beginning of the conflict, said Erdogan.
"Our common priority is to achieve a ceasefire and ensure the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid," he said.
On Türkiye's humanitarian assistance to Gaza, Erdogan stressed that his country has sent 10 plane loads of humanitarian aid to Egypt.
The Palestinian death toll from an ongoing Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip has surged past 12,000, the government media office in the besieged enclave said on Friday.
"The victims include more than 5,000 children and 3,300 women, while 30,000 others have been injured," the media office said in a statement.
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