President Erdogan Believes That the US and Europe are Not Doing enough to Pressure Israel Regarding the Ceasefire in Gaza

JAKARTA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that the United States and Europe had not done enough to pressure Israel to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza, after the Palestinian militant group Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal.

Speaking to Muslim scholars in Istanbul, President Erdogan said Hamas had accepted a ceasefire proposal from Qatar and Egypt as a "step towards a permanent ceasefire", but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government did not want the war to end.

"The Netanyahu Government's response was to attack innocent people in Rafah," he said, referring to the city of Gaza which was targeted by Israel, as reported by Reuters, May 13.

"It's clear who is on the side of peace and dialogue, and who wants continued clashes and more bloodshed," he continued.

"And does Netanyahu see any serious reaction to his spoiled behavior? No. Neither Europe nor America has shown a reaction that would force Israel to a ceasefire," stressed President Erdogan.

It is known that Turkey condemned Israel's attacks on Gaza, called for an immediate ceasefire, and criticized what it called the West's unconditional support for Israel.

Not only that, Ankara has stopped all trade with Israel and said it had decided to join South Africa's initiative to try Israel for genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Last Friday, Ankara welcomed the UN General Assembly's support for Palestine's efforts to become a full member of the UN. President Erdogan on Sunday called on countries that do not recognize the sovereign state of Palestine to do the same after the vote, but criticized Washington and other countries that voted against it.

"We see countries that lecture us about human rights and freedoms at every turn, openly supporting those who massacred 35,000 Gazans," he said, citing figures from the Gaza Health Ministry.

"We see that those who until yesterday said the right to protest was sacred cannot tolerate demonstrations in support of Palestine," he stressed.

The latest Hamas-Israel conflict in the Gaza Strip broke out on October 7, after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to an Israeli tally.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported on Sunday that around 63 people had died in the last 24 hours, bringing the total death toll in the region to 35,034 people, since the war broke out on October 7 2023.

Meanwhile, around 114 people were injured during the same period, bringing the total number of injured since the latest Israel-Hamas conflict broke out to 78,755 people.