Erdogan's Wife: The World Mourns Israel's Cruelty To Palestine

JAKARTA - Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan expressed her concern over Israel's attack on Palestine. He stressed that Ankara would continue to make efforts to provide all support to Palestine.

"Currently, due to Israeli attacks on Palestinian occupation areas and particularly Gaza since October 7, we have witnessed the adverse effects of war on women and children," he said.

"When Israel launched an unprecedented bomb and bullet attack on civilians in Palestine, our collective reaction was very outward and alarming," Erdogan told Newsweek magazine in an exclusive interview.

Israel has caused tens of thousands of deaths and injuries from civilians by attacking schools, places of worship, facilities and even humanitarian corridors, Emine said.

He added that Israel also destroyed 18 of the 35 hospitals in Gaza, preventing them from operating again after attacks and limited resources, including the Turkish Friendship Hospital-Palestinian.

Unfortunately, there is no safe haven in the region for 1.5 million Gazans forced to flee. There are pregnant women, mothers and babies with special needs among these people.

"Can you imagine how difficult it is for them to face this problem, with the conditions of conflict and evacuation?" he asked.

"Turkey considers there is no difference between Palestinian children and children from Ukraine, Europe, America or other countries," Emine said, adding, "Every child has the right to a safe and comfortable home, as well as good education and health services, whatever the conditions."

Israel acts with a'reflex organization'

"Israel applies collective punishment without discriminating between men and women, children and parents," Erdogan said.

What is happening in Gaza now cannot even be described as war. With cutting-edge weapons technology, the country responded reflexively as a community organization, "he added, stressing that Israel is ignoring most of the fundamental rules of international law.

"Currently in Palestine, a warring country is clearly committing war crimes, which are crimes against humanity, violating universal human values and international law. We cannot consider such atrocities as a problem that only has an impact on Palestine, the region, or Muslim countries alone," he said.

"People with conscience, from East to West, defending Palestine, and millions protesting Israel's "cruelty" on roads, squares and university campuses around the world," Emine added.

Turning to the Union Summit for Peace in Palestine recently in Istanbul, the first lady of Turkey said that her country was continuing its intense efforts to announce the "sacrement" to the world and halt the attack.

"Our country will continue to make efforts to provide all kinds of support to the Palestinian people entirely within the scope of humanitarian aid efforts," he added.

I must emphasize that Turkey remains one of the key countries in solving crises and problems in the region. We are ready to make the necessary efforts, including as guarantor, to maintain the peace that we want to build in this regard," he stressed.

Igniting the fire of conflict means 'participating in this massacre'

The first lady of Turkey asked all international actors to work together to achieve long-term peace in Gaza.

Regarding increasing military support from the US to Israel, he said that instigating the fire of conflict was "the simplest way to participate in this massacre."

The Drought Israel gets with US help, targeting hospitals, newborns in incubators in intensive care units, schools, mosques and churches, as well as ambulances carrying patients and refugee camps. Therefore, who can state that Washington plays a constructive role in this? conflict, considering they themselves are involved in this heinous act?

The unshakable support given to Tel Aviv by a country that projects itself as a Western leader has led to the deepening of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has even posed a threat to global peace and order, Emine said.

Turkey calls on all countries that want just and lasting peace for the region and the world to listen to the people's calls for peace, not to silence it, he said, adding, "They need to mobilize all their resources to end the conflict and call on all parties to comply with international law."

Ankara also prioritized the formation of ceasefires and continued humanitarian aid deliveries above all else, he said.

Regarding Israel's policy of blocking aid aimed at the region, Emine Erdogan said, "We reject the sentence imposed on Gaza, which has been hit by destruction, and against innocent citizens living there."

"The red description for everyone who has a conscience is the life of an innocent person who is taken for the crimes he has not committed, or the tears of a baby, or the cries of children who claim 'I want to live,'" he said.

When chemical weapons are dropped on children, when civilian settlements, including UN institutions, become targeted, and when humanitarian aid workers request assistance by letter, the red line should be violated for all of us. In our religion, the killing of children of innocent people is the same as 'human death', "said the first lady of Turkey.

Regarding the silence of the world community in the face of weeks-long attacks, he said, Turkeye will fight for the understanding of the world that accepts people with mercy and views them as important people, regardless of language, religion, or ethnicity.

"We will do whatever it takes to restore trust, stability, and peace in the region and around the world," he said.

Ankara supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the formation of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Israel has launched non-stop air and landstrikes in the Gaza Strip including hospitals, residences and places of worship since cross-border attacks by Palestinian resistance group Hamas on October 7.

At least 15,000 Palestinians have been killed, including 5,600 children and 3,550 women.