Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan affirmed that “the international judiciary would have intervened immediately if a Muslim country had committed the war crimes committed by Israel.”
This came in statements made by President Erdogan to reporters on board the plane during his return from Germany, where he made a working visit on Friday.
Erdogan said that his talks with his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and the country’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, “focused more on the situation in Gaza.”
He explained that Steinmeier and Scholz “believe that the Hamas movement is guilty of the developments because of the step it took on October 7 last year.”
Hamas carried out the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation on October 7, which was followed by a devastating war launched by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip with absolute Western support.
Erdogan pointed out that “the German side accuses Hamas of killing civilians and so on,” and that he told them the opposite during the meetings that took place on Friday.
He continued: “We told them clearly that Israel is a terrorist state, and that it unfortunately killed 13,000 people, including children, women and the elderly, in Palestine. You do not see these matters and put them aside. You try to explain to us the killing of 100-200 people on the Israeli side as a summary of the scene.”
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He added: “Unfortunately, there is a wrong focus in their conclusions. They are also practicing the same policy here that they pursued regarding Ukraine. Everything they did in Ukraine, they are doing the same things in Israel as well.”
He said: “We see that they say that Israel is right, and they are transferring all capabilities, whether weapons or money, to this country without any limits.”
The Turkish President explained that “Scholz said during their meeting that Germany is forced to provide this support with money and weapons to Israel on the grounds that it is in a position of (self-defense).”
Erdogan pointed out that Berlin “considers what Israel is doing as self-defense, but what the Palestinian resistance is doing does not consider it as such.”
He added: “They dragged (displaced) the people of Gaza from north to south, and they are also bombing there from all sides, by air, sea and land.”
Erdogan stated that “the mentality of eliminating the Palestinians and erasing them from those lands, which began with Theodor Herzl and still continues, is prevalent in the region today.”
Regarding the new steps that Turkey will take towards Gaza after transporting cancer patients from there to the capital, Ankara, for treatment, Erdogan said that his country is taking many steps for the sake of Gaza, especially in the health field.
He explained that transporting 27 cancer patients to Turkey is only part of this work, otherwise the number of patients is very large.
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Erdogan continued: “There are people who need surgery, and they are already in the hundreds, and we have not been able to get them out yet.”
He confirmed that Turkey delivered a large amount of aid to the region through air and sea shipments to meet basic needs such as food, medicine, and water.
He added: “Our efforts to support Gaza on the political scene and raise awareness in the international community continue unabated.”
He stressed that “the best step to be taken regarding Gaza is to reach a ceasefire as soon as possible, and our priority will be achieving lasting peace.”
He continued: “When a ceasefire is reached (in Gaza), we will do everything necessary for Israel to pay compensation for the destruction it caused.”
He pointed out that Turkey will make efforts to rebuild the damaged infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and destroyed water and energy facilities in Gaza.
He said, “After reaching a ceasefire, we will do our utmost to improve the living conditions of the people of Gaza and revive their hopes.”
He pointed out that even if the world turns its back on Gaza, Turkey has always stood and will continue to stand by the oppressed.
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In response to a question about the possibility of keeping the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza open to deliver aid despite Israel’s threats, Erdogan said that keeping the crossing open is very important because it has become a lifeline for Gaza and its residents.
He added: “Our aid reaches our brothers from there, albeit in a limited manner. Israel is trying to prevent this aid and leave Gaza facing hunger and thirst, and from time to time it obstructs the passage of aid.”
He added, “But we do not despair. We are working to involve international relief organizations and the United Nations, and we are delivering our aid even if it is not to the extent we want.”
He stressed that Turkey will continue to help Gaza “until it stands on its feet despite all obstacles, and the whole world, especially Islamic countries, should mobilize efforts to help it as well.”
When asked about the war crimes committed by Israel, Erdogan said that more than a thousand lawyers have submitted requests to the International Criminal Court to investigate these crimes and that the requests are still continuing.
On the other hand, Erdogan pointed out that Israel is not a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and therefore it is not subject to the provisions of the treaty in the first stage.
He added: “But member countries have the right to submit a request to the International Atomic Energy Agency to demand the establishment of an inspection mechanism in the name of nuclear safety, and we will currently work to put this matter into practice.”
He pointed out that a meeting of the agency’s board of directors will be held to decide on this request, but this process will take some time because they have to send the board’s decision to the United Nations Security Council, which is the highest body for the International Atomic Energy Agency.
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He continued: “It is possible that the United States will stand by Israel and use its veto power against this issue, but even the mere fact that this issue reaches the stage of discussion on that ground is a very big matter.”
He explained, “This is the first time that such a request has been registered against Israel in official records. Making progress in this matter is very important in terms of ensuring a balance of strategic interests in the region.”
He stressed that Turkey will continue to exert pressure in this regard, and it calls for the implementation of control over Israeli nuclear weapons in order to eliminate doubt before it is too late.
The Turkish President pledged to follow up on this issue, calling on the whole world not to give up on this matter.
Erdogan reiterated his assertion that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin, “Netanyahu will leave and we will get rid of him, and even Israel will get rid of him, God willing, and so will the Jews of all the world.”
He stated that 60-70 percent of the people in Israel currently oppose Netanyahu, because he is causing huge costs for his country and the world.
He added: “At the present time, everyone is supplying it with weapons and money, but this makes the countries that support it pay a price.”
He pointed out that there is a lot of evidence to try the Israeli administration before the International Criminal Court.
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Erdogan added: “If a Muslim country had committed the war crimes committed by Israel, the international judiciary would have intervened immediately without the need for special efforts.”
He added: “We will do our best to punish these crimes without bias, and even if everyone stops prosecuting Israel’s crimes, we will not do that.”
He praised the efforts made by the Anti-Disinformation Center of the Turkish Presidency’s Communications Department to expose and refute the lies that Israel has been spreading since October 7.
He explained that “Israel is trying to legitimize its occupation through many lies.”
The Turkish President continued: “They are trying to cover up the war crimes they committed in Gaza with fabricated excuses.”
He pointed out that “Israel is storming hospitals with cannons and tanks. They are still searching for a tunnel under the hospital (Al-Shifa). It turns out that all of those (tunnels) are just lies.”
He added: “We are seeking to evacuate patients in need of surgery (in Gaza) as soon as possible. Our discussions with Egypt are continuing in this regard.”
In response to a request from the families of the Israeli hostages for his help, Erdogan said, “We brought our intelligence service into the matter and it is now conducting the necessary investigations. We are working to obtain a result.”
