No justification for 'collective punishment' of Gaza civilians, Türkiye tells UN

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - Türkiye's Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yildiz asserted Tuesday that there can be no justification for the "collective punishment" of Palestinian civilians by Israel in Gaza.

During a UN Security Council session, Yildiz emphasized that the Palestinian people in Gaza, with a population of 2.5 million squeezed into a tiny territory, are enduring constant and indiscriminate bombing.

"Some prefer to look the other way in the face of such atrocities. They prefer not to speak about crimes against humanity and war crimes. They prefer to pretend as if Palestinian people are just numbers and they have no souls and rights," he said. "This is absolutely unacceptable.”

He denounced it as "sheer hypocrisy and the embodiment of double standards, constituting the root cause of the problem we are facing today."

"If we continue treading the same path, today’s problems between Israel and Palestine will only increase in magnitude," he said, calling for immediate action to prevent the conflict from spilling over into the wider region and beyond.

Yildiz expressed Türkiye's desire for a cessation of hostilities through an immediate, unconditional and lasting cease-fire along with the unhindered flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

"The two parties, Israel and Palestine, must be brought together to agree on a two-state solution, living side by side in secure and pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine," he added.

The deputy minister stressed that the responsibility for stopping the "bloodshed and initiating a meaningful peace process lies, first and foremost, with the Security Council.

"We urge the Council to put an end to its indifference to this ongoing carnage which can have no place in the 21st century," he said.

Israel has continued a relentless bombardment campaign on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israeli border towns on Oct. 7.

Nearly 5,800 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the bombardment began, including more than 2,000 children, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry.

More than 1,400 Israelis have also been killed in the conflict.