Erdogan Raps Israel's Gaza Savagery
IslamOnline.net & News Agencies
There is an atrocity in our region, and we cannot support those who are responsible for it," said Erdogan. (Reuters)
ANKARA — With more bloodshed spelt in the devastated Gaza Strip, Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan rapped Israel on Tuesday, January 6, insisting its slaughter of armless civilians, including children, is unjustifiable.
"Any reason cannot justify the fact that 550 people were killed and more than two thousand others were injured in the strikes," Erdogan told the parliament, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"What reason can justify such savagery?"
More than 40 Palestinians were killed Tuesday in an Israeli strike on a UN-run school in the northern town of Jabaliya where civilians had taken shelter.
Earlier in the day, two people were killed when an artillery shell slammed into another UN-run school in the southern town of Khan Yunis and three in a raid on a school in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City.
One strike killed 13 -- including seven children -- from the same family in Gaza City.
The latest fatalities, which included 13 members of the same family, took the Palestinian death toll in 11 days of Israeli attacks to over 600.
"They should have been aware of the fact that lives of children, women and the elderly are so sacred," said Erdogan, who shuttled Arab countries to broker a truce conducive the end of Israeli onslaught.
"We are trying to do our utmost in search for a ceasefire in the region. There is an atrocity in our region, and we cannot support those who are responsible for it."
Israel has spurned all international calls, including an initiative by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, for an immediate ceasefire.
Millions of Turks have taken to the streets in recent days to condemn the Israeli onslaught.
A basketball game between a Turkish and an Israeli team was suspended on Tuesday after hundreds of Turkish fans began chanting "Israel, killers!"
Political War
Erdogan, whose country has good ties with Tel Aviv, accused Israeli leaders of waging an all-out war against the coastal enclave of 1.6 million people for political gains.
"I am telling Ehud Barak and (Tzipi) Livni to forget about the elections, because history will judge them for the black stain they are leaving on humanity," he said, refereeing for the Israeli defence and foreign ministers.
Many observers believe the Gaza offensive may make or break Barak’s political future, and that of his Labor Party.
Success probably wouldn’t be enough to propel Barak to the premiership but would strengthen his position within the ruling coalition and help restore Labor’s flagging political fortunes.
"It is unforgivable that the people who suffered profound pains in their history, could do such a thing," said Erdogan.
"In fact, they should have displayed more respect to human life than anyone else in the world."
The Turkish premier noted that hundreds of Jews have protested against the Israeli aggression.
"As a matter of fact, Jewish people living in different parts of the world also express their concerns about the developments."
On Tuesday, more than 100 Australian Jews, including a former environment minister, two novelists and a politician, denounced Israel's invasion of Gaza.
"We are Australian Jews who join thousands in Israel and around the world condemning ongoing Israeli military attacks on Gaza," they said in a joint statement.
"Together with Israeli peace group Gush Shalom, we condemn the current war as 'inhuman, superfluous' and 'abominable.'"
Source: IslamOnline.net & News Agencies
Posted by Dr. A.H. Awang Mois
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