UPDATE - UN, West just watching Israeli crimes in Gaza for 140 days: Turkish President Erdogan

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY TURKISH PRESIDENT, ADDS MORE BACKGROUND

By Merve Berker

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday criticized the UN and Western countries for “just watching the humanitarian crimes” committed by Israel in Gaza for the last 140 days.

“So much so that the UN Security Council does not and cannot call for an immediate cease-fire,” Erdogan decried, speaking at a meeting of the Justice and Development (AK) Party in Türkiye’s northwestern province of Sakarya.

“Neither Western powers nor the UN Security Council have made a useful effort to prevent Israeli violence,” he stressed.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

For the first time since its creation in 1948, Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, the highest judicial body of the United Nations, over its Gaza war.

An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

He also touched on Türkiye’s success in becoming one of the four countries across the world in “producing 5th generation warplanes.”

Praising the country’s defense industry export volume in 2023 with approximately $5.5 billion, he indicated that it is the country’s record.

“Having the KAAN fighter jet, the Anadolu ship, Akinci, Kizilelma, ANKA, the Altay tank, and various missile systems is a matter of survival for us,” he emphasized.

He also pointed out how successful the Turkish Armed Forces is in fighting terrorism.

Mentioning that there is not a single terror element positioned within Turkish territories, Erdogan noted that wherever there is a terrorist, Turkish soldiers find and “neutralize” them.

“We will continue the fight until the last terrorist is neutralized, regardless of who is behind them,” he added.

Turkish authorities use the term “neutralize” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.