President Erdogan: Israel Shamelessly Continues to Trample International Law, Must Be Responsible

JAKARTA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that Israel must be held accountable in international courts for what he called war crimes it committed in Gaza.

In a telephone conversation ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Gaza planned for Wednesday in New York, United States local time, President Erdogan and Guterres discussed "the expectations of the international community regarding Israel's illegal attacks", access for humanitarian aid to the region and efforts for lasting peace, said the Turkish Presidency.

"In the telephone call, President Erdogan said Israel continues to shamelessly trample international law, the laws of war, and international humanitarian law in the eyes of the international community, and Israel must be held accountable for the crimes it commits before international law," he said in a statement, reported by Reuters November 29.

More than 15 thousand people have died according to Gaza health authorities, after Israel bombarded, blockaded, and recently launched a ground operation into the Palestinian enclave.

This was done after the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked the southern region of Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking 240 others hostage.

Meanwhile, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan would attend a UN Security Council meeting in New York.

In a statement they added, Foreign Minister Fidan will also hold a meeting with his colleagues as part of a contact group of several Muslim countries, set up by the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) this month to discuss Gaza with Western countries and other countries. -Islam country.

Turkey is understood to have strongly condemned Israel's attacks on Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire to allow discussions on a two-state solution to the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

President Erdogan himself called Israel's attack on Gaza a genocide and accused Israel of being a "terror state". Israel rejects the accusations, saying it acted in self-defense against an enemy bent on its destruction.