Turkey will declare occupying regime of Israel 'war criminal': Erdogan tells rally

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that his government is set to declare Israel a “war criminal”, also blaming the West for the regime’s “massacre” of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Addressing hundreds of thousands of supporters at one of the largest pro-Palestinian rallies in Istanbul on Saturday, Erdogan said, “We will tell the whole world that Israel is a war criminal. We are making preparations for this. We will declare Israel a war criminal.”

“Israel has been openly committing war crimes for 22 days, but the Western leaders cannot even call on Israel for a ceasefire, let alone react to it,” he said in an hour-long speech, referring to the Israeli atrocities in Gaza since the launch of its attacks against Palestinian people.

“The main culprit behind the massacre unfolding in Gaza is the West”, he said adding that “the massacre in Gaza is entirely the work of the West.”

Western countries, including the United States, Britain, Australia, and Canada have expressed support for Israel since the regime launched its war on the Gaza Strip on October 7.

The European Union (EU) also released a statement supporting the occupying regime and said it will review the assistance it provides in Palestinian territories, including aid to tens of thousands of refugees.

Erdogan told the crowd that "every country has the right to defend itself. But where is the justice in this case? There is no defense but an open, and vicious massacre going on in Gaza.”

He called for “dialogue" to put an end to Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip, saying, "No one loses from a just peace."

Recalling the UN General Assembly votes in favor of a resolution calling for a 'humanitarian truce' in Gaza, Erdogan said, "Israel, you are doomed to be left alone."

The UN General Assembly approved a resolution Friday that called for an immediate "durable and sustained humanitarian truce" in Gaza.

Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen said on Saturday that Tel Aviv had summoned some of its diplomatic envoys to Turkey because of “grave statements” made by Ankara.

“Given the grave statements coming from Turkey, I have ordered the return of diplomatic representatives there in order to conduct a reevaluation of the relations between Israel and Turkey,” Cohen said in a post on X.

In addition to the indiscriminate bombing campaign, Israel has also blocked water, food, and electricity to one of the most densely populated places in the world.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has described the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza as "more than catastrophic".

The organization said the regime's relentless bombing and severe fuel shortages are turning the hospitals into "graves" across the besieged territory.

The airstrikes have so far killed more than 7,700 people, including over 3,000 children in the besieged territory, the Gaza health ministry said Saturday.

Over 21,400 people have also been wounded since the bombing began three weeks ago.

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