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Israel must realise that times have changed and it should change

February 17, 2014 at 1:49 am

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticised Israel’s actions in the Middle East, describing them as “irresponsible”. He also denounced its use of illegal munitions against the peoples of the region.

During his speech at the Justice and Development Party’s headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara, Erdogan warned Tel Aviv, “The times have changed and Israel has to return to its senses and stay away from irresponsible behaviour.” He invited Israel to acknowledge the Palestinians’ rights and comply with United Nations resolutions.


“The Turkish government will continue to support the Palestinian people’s quest for their legitimate rights and fight for them,” said the Prime Minister. He made special mention of the historic ties between the Arabs and Turks.

Mr. Erdogan took the opportunity to criticise opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu for mocking the emotional outburst of Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu during the latter’s visit to Gaza. Davutoglu was tearful when he saw the martyrs of the latest Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. Erdogan said that any human being would not be able to control himself in the face of such a dire humanitarian crisis, not least in seeing the corpse of a 14 year old girl as her blood continued to flow in front of her father. He added that he would not wish even his enemies to be in such a situation.

“A person who ridicules that very human response must have a heart of stone,” he said, “and would be collaborating with those who commit injustice.” Erdogan accused Kılıçdaroğlu of lacking an understanding of his country’s foreign policy.

“When it comes to injustice, insensitivity and apathy, the CHP leader is competing with Israel. I am sure that the Israeli leaders – like the blood-stained government of Syria – are very happy to have such a supporter in Turkey.”

Addressing the people of Syria and Palestine, Prime Minister Erdogan said, “Your martyrs are also the martyrs of Turkey. We will not differentiate between them.”