UPDATE - West’s unconditional support for Israel will continue ‘influenced by shame of Holocaust’: Turkish president

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY PRESIDENT ERDOGAN

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) – Western powers’ unconditional support for Israel’s deadly offensive on Gaza will continue at the expense of violating their own principles, “influenced in part by the shame” of the Nazi Holocaust of European Jews, the Turkish president said Saturday.

“Except for a few brave souls” there has been little visible Western media reaction to the horrors of a nine-month Israeli offensive on Gaza, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, adding: “They ignored genocide, disregarded the cries of the oppressed.”

"Since Oct. 7, they have continued to play ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.’ Instead of resisting the pressures of the Zionist lobby, they chose to surrender. They buried the values they defended for decades in mass graves in Gaza by supporting Israel with their own hands,” he said.

Stressing that those who have long lectured others on press freedom and claimed to uphold human rights and freedoms have now revealed their true faces, Erdogan stated: "Whatever is happening is unfolding before the eyes of all of us, of humanity.”

“Those who remain indifferent to the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza don't even feel the need to hide their heartlessness, hypocritical policies,” he added.

Stating that nearly 150 journalists have lost their lives in Israeli attacks and that offices of global media organizations were raided and shut down by police, Erdogan said Israel “violated, trampled upon, and shredded every principle of press freedom.'"

Also criticizing the Islamic world for falling short on acting against the carnage in Gaza, Erdogan added that says not only international organizations but also institutions of the Islamic world have “failed to pass test on Gaza.”

“While rightfully criticizing the Western world for the massacres in Gaza, I believe Muslims also need to hold ourselves accountable,” Erdogan said.

“With a population of over 2 billion, and economic power surpassing trillions of dollars, it is incumbent upon all of us to wonder why the Islamic world cannot influence Israel,” he added.

- 'In the face of this reality, what will the Islamic world do?'

Erdogan underlined that, as Israel has persistently done for 76 years, in the days to come it will not relent in killing, shedding innocent blood, and spilling more blood.

“The UN Security Council, serving the interests of (its permanent member) five countries, will take no action against Israel. International media outlets will neither expose Israel's atrocities nor hear the cries of the oppressed, just as they do today,” he added.

“In the face of this reality, what will the Islamic world do? What measures will it take to confront oppression and the oppressor? Alongside Gaza, we have no choice but to ask ourselves these questions more frequently and muster the courage to confront reality. The earlier we question this, the more beneficial it will be for the Islamic community and humanity,” he said.

Erdogan reiterated that Türkiye, a “refuge for the oppressed,” will continue to stand by the side of the oppressed and firmly against oppressors, both now and in the future.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.

More than 38,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 88,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

​​​​​​​Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.​​​​​​​