Erdoğan calls on int’l community to unite against Israeli ‘genocide’ in Gaza

ISTANBUL

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reiterated a call on the international community to unite on the side of humanity against continued Israeli massacres in Gaza, likening crimes committed by the Netanyahu government to Hitler’s during World War II.

“In these dark days when mass deaths from starvation have begun in Gaza, I call on the entire international community to unite on the front of humanity. Let us all stand together against this brutality. Let us say ‘Enough is enough’ to this oppression and this savagery,” Erdoğan said in his address at the opening ceremony of the 17th International Defense Industry Fair on July 22 in Istanbul.

Slamming the Israeli government for blocking the supply of humanitarian aid into Gaza, where mass deaths due to starvation and other problems have begun, Erdoğan said Israel’s massacres in Gaza and its military operations in the region are going to be on Türkiye’s agenda.

“The suffering of children in Gaza, who have been reduced to skin and bones because humanitarian aid materials are not allowed to enter, is our suffering,” Erdoğan stated.

“We continue to keep Israel’s genocide against the people of Gaza, which far surpasses that of the Nazis, on the agenda of all humanity,” the president said, comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s brutal policies in Gaza to the Holocaust committed by Hitler during the World War II.

“No one with even a shred of human dignity can accept the cruelty in which dozens of innocent people die every day for lack of a morsel of bread or a sip of water,” Erdoğan said, adding “Whoever remains silent in the face of the genocide in Gaza is complicit in the crimes against humanity committed by Israel.”

Türkiye’s aim is the establishment of a ceasefire as soon as possible and ensuring the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza is another priority, Erdoğan said, informing that the government will continue its diplomatic efforts to this end.

“We want peace, comfort and solidarity in our region,” he said, stressing Türkiye will continue do whatever necessary for a stable region.

 Turkish defense industry continues to shine

On Türkiye’s achievements in the field of defense, Erdoğan stressed that Türkiye, living in the middle of a ring of fire due to regional conflicts, needs to be a strong deterrent power.

“We are passing through a process during which global power centers are shifting and being redefined. We wake up to a new crisis every day. Nobody knows, nobody foresees what will happen tomorrow,” Erdoğan stated.

The rules-based order has been disrupted and those who are powerful are claiming to be right on every front, the president stressed, adding that Türkiye is one of the countries that is being impacted by these changes in the region and in the world.

Türkiye had to develop its own independent defense industry because of embargoes and restrictions, even from the allied countries, Erdoğan explained and informed that around 80 percent of weapons and other military equipment are being produced by Türkiye’s national resources.

“We have become the 11th largest exporter in the defense industry field,” Erdoğan said, underlining that 65 of 100 unmanned aerial vehicles sold in the world are made in Türkiye.

“The Turkish defense industry is writing history,” the president added.