Turkish President Erdogan calls on influential actors to reduce Israel-Palestine tension

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye calls on influential actors in the region to reduce tensions, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday as he commented on flared-up tensions between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas.

Speaking at a Türkiye Youth Foundation gathering in the capital Ankara, Erdogan said: "We do not want conflicts to spread to our region, instead of blindly supporting someone, we call on influential actors to reduce tension."

"As a nation that has not deviated from justice or fairness for centuries, our stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict is also in this direction," he added.

Erdogan stressed that unlike organizations, states are obligated to abide by laws of war and human rights. "We see that this line is gradually disappearing," he said.

The Turkish leader said cutting off electricity, water, fuel, and food of 2 million people in Gaza is neither "humane" nor has a place in the "laws of war."

Regarding the US policy towards the Israel-Palestine conflict, Erdogan said: Does it befit a country like the US to restore peace, or to add fuel to fire?

He said there is no water, bread and food in Gaza right now, which is against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"Where is the West? Do they have any measures in place at this point? They don't," he said. "There can be no justification for the attacks on my brothers in Gaza, which have reached the level of a massacre."

Israeli forces have launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip, a response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.

The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air.

Hamas said the offensive was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.

In response, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.

Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.

More than 2,700 people have been killed since the outbreak of the conflict on Saturday, including over 1,400 Palestinians and 1,300 Israelis.

Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz on Thursday said electricity, water and fuel will not be provided to Gaza until all its hostages were freed.