16 May 2018•Update: 17 May 2018
By Sorwar Alam and Burcu Arik
ANKARA
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday criticized the United Nations for doing nothing in the face of Israeli brutality in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking at a fast-breaking dinner (iftar) for martyrs’ families in Ankara, Erdogan said: “The UN is finished, ended, collapsed. At this moment, I cannot reach the UN secretary general despite having a good friendship [with him]."
Erdogan underlined they would “never allow Jerusalem to be usurped by Israel”.
"We will support the struggle of our brothers until the days when the Palestinian lands -- which have long been occupied -- will have peace and security within the borders of the free Palestinian state," he added.
The Turkish president accused the international community of failing to deal with the Israeli attacks, adding that international bodies would have done much more if such killings had happened elsewhere.
“We will not remain silent against Israel even though the world closes its eyes to this oppression,” he vowed.
Earlier, he announced a mass rally to be held on Friday in Istanbul’s Yenikapi Square to show solidarity with Palestinians.
Turkey, as term president of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), called for an emergency OIC summit also on Friday in Istanbul to discuss joint action against Israel.
Erdogan stated the U.S. decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem had “made a mockery of” the Israeli government.
He vowed to continue support for Palestinians “not only with our heart but also by every means available.”
If the international community remains silent in the face of Israel's tyranny, the world will be dragged into a chaos ruled by thuggery, warned Erdogan.
On Monday, at least 62 Palestinian demonstrators were martyred and hundreds more injured by Israeli troops deployed along the other side of the border.
Monday’s demonstration had coincided with Israel’s 70th anniversary -- an event Palestinians refer to as “the Catastrophe” -- and the relocation of Washington’s Israel embassy to Jerusalem.
Since the Gaza rallies began on March 30, more than 100 Palestinian demonstrators have been martyred by cross-border Israeli army gunfire.
Last week, the Israeli government claimed the ongoing border protests constituted a “state of war” in which international humanitarian law does not apply.
Turkey’s fight against terrorism
Erdogan also touched upon Turkish ongoing fight against terrorism both inside the country and in Syria and Iraq.
A total of 4,456 terrorists neutralized in northwestern Syria since the Turkish military launched Operation Olive Branch on Jan. 20 to clear YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorist groups from Afrin, northwestern Syria, said Erdogan.
Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.
He also mentioned that Turkish forces had recently neutralized 403 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq and 345 across Turkey.
On March 18, Turkish-backed troops liberated the Afrin town center, which had been a major hideout for the YPG/PKK terrorists since 2012.
According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkey’s borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.
