Erdogan attacks Israel and UN dysfunction in General Assembly speech
Turkey’s president accused Israel of war crimes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, while calling for Ukraine’s sovereignty to be preserved.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel of war crimes and a “genocidal mindset” in Gaza and the occupied West Bank during an address to the United Nations General Assembly.
Erdogan said more than 1,300 civilians had been killed in Gaza despite what he described as a ceasefire. He said Hamas and other Palestinian groups had accepted the second phase of an October ceasefire framework, but Israel had not ended its actions in Gaza.
He also accused Israeli settlers of escalating conditions in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli delegation reportedly walked out during the speech, while Palestinian representatives applauded.
Erdogan criticised the United Nations, saying it had failed to fulfil its responsibilities for peace and stability. He described the organisation as being forced into “dysfunction” and “bleeding out” in Palestine, Lebanon and Sudan.
He also addressed the absence of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, saying the Palestinian leader had been denied a US visa. Erdogan said Turkey would continue to speak for a free and sovereign Palestine.
On Ukraine, Erdogan called for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war while preserving Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. The claims about Gaza’s death toll, the ceasefire and the reported reactions at the assembly were not independently verified in the supplied material.
