By Janet Ekstract ISTANBUL-In a speech on Wednesday, Erdoğan condemned Israel’s continuing bombardment of Gaza calling Israel’s actions inhumane while criticizing the U.S. for condoning Netanyahu’s violence. As Erdoğan said in his speech in Ankara: “Turkiye doesn’t owe Israel anything.” The Turkish president went on to say that Türkiye has always been welcoming to Jews throughout history, and that he wants to see a ceasefire and does not want to see Israel act like an organization. Because as Erdoğan explained, an organization is not bound by international law. Erdoğan reiterated that Israel must act like a state and follow international law. He also defended Hamas, insisting that “Hamas is not a terrorist organization” but labeled them “liberators and mujahadeen” for Palestine.
Meanwhile, Israel is refusing to issue visas to United Nations officials after Israeli leadership took offense at remarks U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan announced the new directive in a statement on Wednesday. Backlash against Guterres came after he indirectly criticized Israel for ordering civilians in Gaza to evacuate to the southern part of the country en masse. Guterres also stated that the Hamas attack on October 7 did not happen ‘in a vacuum.” As Guterres reiterated that the Palestinians have been “subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.” A number of countries gave a positive nod to Guterres’s statement but Israel called on the U.N. chief to resign. Guterres’s comments were lauded by countries as a “a very balanced approach.”
For his part, Guterres told the media that he was shocked at how his remarks had been taken out of context and clarified the statements he made a day ago. As Guterres had commented: “The grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the horrific attacks by Hamas. Those horrendous attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.” The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s call for the U.N. chief to resign, describing it as an “unprovoked attack.” U.S. officials have been urging Israel to postpone its planned ground invasion into Gaza until the hostages are freed and has encouraged humanitarian aid getting into Gaza.
Analysts and world leaders fear Israel’s war on Gaza could lead to a wider conflict that would end up pulling in Lebanon, Iran and Hezbollah. On Wednesday, Hezbollah made a statement agreeing to continue coordination on a daily and permanent basis with Islamic Jihad and Hamas. Experts on the region say it’s a show of force to Israel and that Hamas is a group with a mission to end Israel’s existence and that its promoting anti-Israeli sentiment with groups in Iraq and Syria – in case Israel decides to invade Gaza. Meanwhile, EU leaders will meet on Thursday where the focus will center on the current crisis in Gaza. EU member states said aid to Gaza should be conditional on Hamas stopping its attacks while Biden said when Hamas releases all hostages, there will be time to talk. In a phone call, a day ago, Hamas leadership said it was ready to talk but Biden rejected the idea Thursday’s meeting of EU leaders is expected to be rife with challenges, especially the Gaza conflict.
