UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM TURKISH PRESIDENT RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN
By Muhammed Enes Calli
ISTANBUL (AA) — Israel will be held accountable for all oppression it has caused in Palestine since World War II, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, adding that there would be "no escape" from this.
"The more the Israeli administration escalates its oppression, the heavier the price it will pay," Erdogan said after a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara.
"Israeli rulers will sooner or later be tried in the court of humanity, suffer the punishment they deserve, and take their place in dustbin of history," he added.
Erdogan also criticized the US and Europe for their "unlimited support" to Israel, saying that, had they not given their backing, "rulers of this terrorist state could not act recklessly."
The West has clearly demonstrated that it only cares about its prosperity, and is complicit in the brutality in Gaza, acting solely on its inherent barbaric instincts, Erdogan said.
"Institutions like the UN Security Council, displaying their impotence, have strayed from being the common roof of humanity," said Erdogan, adding that "sincere support" from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also been thwarted by permanent members.
"To mercilessly kill innocent children, women, unarmed, and helpless people with the world's most modern war machines is wretchedness exclusive to cowardly leaders like those in Israel.
"It is certain that Israel, with its trembling heart and legs in the face of a handful of civilians in Gaza, will be shattered when confronted with a real army, a real power. We hope that the Israeli government gathers its senses before such a painful fate becomes necessary," the Turkish president said.
The only way to bring peace to the region is through the establishment of an independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the 1967 borders, he added.
Israel resumed its military offensive on the Palestinian territory on Friday after the end of a weeklong humanitarian pause with the Palestinian group Hamas.
At least 16,248 Palestinians have been killed and more than 43,616 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks on the enclave since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas.
The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.