Ankara: Amid Israel’s ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote his name in history as ‘butcher of Gaza’ and will be tried as a war criminal.
He made these remarks during a speech, on Monday, December 4, while he was addressing an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) committee meeting in Istanbul.
“We are not going to let the issue of Israel having nuclear weapons be forgotten,” Erdogan said.
He adds, “In addition to being a war criminal, Netanyahu will be tried as the butcher of Gaza, just as Milosevic was tried,” Reuters reported.
Erdogan was referring to former Yugoslavia president Slobodan Milosevic, who was tried of war crimes during the 1990s Yugoslav war, including multiple counts of crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes.
“Those who are trying to overlook the killing of all these innocent people using the pretext of Hamas have nothing left to say to humanity,” he added.
He stressed that “Gaza is Palestinian land and belongs to the Palestinians and will remain so forever. We will not allow Israel to control it, and this is something we must do for the sake of our lands.”
Erdogan’s statements come as Israel turns its focus towards southern Gaza after the end of the ceasefire with Hamas on Friday, December 1.
The Israeli army is now ordering civilians to evacuate from the areas of Khan Yunis, a major city in the southern Gaza Strip.
The death toll from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has surged to 15,899 since the start of the conflict on October 7, according to Gaza health ministry on Monday.
