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Muslim states failed to stop Israeli massacre of Palestinians in Gaza: Turkey's Erdogan

Sunday, 10 March 2024 10:34 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 10 March 2024 10:34 AM ]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on March 8, 2024. (File photo by AFP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Muslim-majority countries did not do enough to stop Israeli forces from killing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

During an event in Istanbul, Erdogan said that Israel’s war on Gaza, which has so far killed nearly 31,000 Palestinians, shows “significant shortcomings” in the Islamic world.

“Unfortunately, the Islamic world, with its population of nearly 2 billion people, has failed to properly fulfill its brotherly duty to the Palestinians,” he said.

He highlighted that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights became “just a piece of paper” when it comes to the right to live for Palestinian children, women and innocent civilians.

“[The war] has shown us that the Islamic world still has very significant shortcomings, especially in terms of acting in unity” when attempting to pressure Israel to end its operation in Gaza, the Turkish leader added.

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The regime has killed over 11,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, since early October.

According to Erdogan, despite the “hard work and many efforts in the diplomatic field,” the Muslim-majority countries ultimately “could not prevent the deaths of innocent children of Gaza from hunger, bullets and bombs.”

Erdogan has repeatedly referred to the Israeli regime as a “war criminal” and “terrorist,” urging Tel Aviv to stop its war on Gaza.

Since the war erupted in Gaza, thousands of pro-Palestine protesters have staged demonstrations in support of Palestinians and protesting the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip across the country.

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