UPDATE - Israel's 'occupier terrorism' in Gaza are crimes against humanity, constitute 'genocide,' says Turkish President Erdogan

- UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM TURKISH PRESIDENT

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ISTANBUL (AA) - Israel's “occupier terrorism” in Gaza and other Palestinian territories are crimes against humanity which constitute “genocide,” said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday.

"We must compel Israel to comply with international law and be held accountable for its actions. We should also break the blockade in the UN," Erdogan told journalists on his return flight from Algeria.

He also said everyone, including foreign officials, are now telling the Turkish side that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "has to go."

On worldwide protests against Israel's attacks on Gaza, Erdogan said: "Politicians who turn a deaf ear to that voice will soon face the democratic response of the people."

Israel's occupation of Gaza, even though it might have plunged some governments into silence, stirred the public conscience, he added.

Western society, struggling with the legacy of the Nazi Holocaust, now failed the test and stood on the wrong side of history in the Palestine-Israel conflict, Erdogan stressed.

The West once again turned a blind eye to the massacres in Gaza as it did in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Syria, Erdogan said, citing atrocities from past years and decades.

But this time it was different, said Erdogan, adding that people are now saying: “Enough of this oppression."

"The voice rising from the streets is a cry of conscience," he said.

He stressed the need for the countries supporting Israel to abide by international law, human rights, and moral values, and not be complicit in Israel’s crimes.

He also said ending the siege of Gaza is possible only through steps taken by not just a few countries but by all Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Arab League member countries.

The blockades on Gaza imposed by "Zionists and their supporters" which have deprived the Palestinians of the right to self-determination, property rights, and freedoms, must be eliminated, he said.

"Only in this way can lasting peace be achieved."

"Gaza is Palestinian land. Although the ancestral homelands of Palestinians have been gradually occupied by Israel since 1947, Gaza will remain Palestinian territory," he said.

- Close cooperation with Algeria on ending atrocities in Gaza

On his just-concluded visit to Algeria, Erdogan said he discussed regional and global issues, including Israel's atrocities in Gaza, with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

"We condemn the massacres that have been ongoing since Oct. 7 in the occupied Palestinian territories. We discussed steps that can be taken to stop the massacres and ensure unimpeded access to humanitarian aid."

Algeria has strongly criticized the massacres in Gaza, he added.

He pledged to continue close cooperation with Algeria to end the atrocities against the Palestinian people and achieve peace and stability in the region.

- Ankara evacuated 88 patients, 67 of their companion from Gaza

Türkiye has so far evacuated 88 patients and 67 of their companion from Gaza, he said.

"We are providing their treatment in our (Turkish) city hospitals, and we will continue to do so. We want the evacuation of Gazan patients and their transportation to our country to increase and continue."

Erdogan added he would visit to Egypt in the near future to discuss what steps can be taken to evacuate more patients from Gaza.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, killing more than 14,128 Palestinians, including 5,840 children and 3,920 women, according to health authorities in the enclave.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques, and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel’s air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.