Barbarian, bloodthirsty Netanyahu must be stopped: President Erdogan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “who is dragging the region and the entire world into disaster,” must be stopped, Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

"This barbarian, thug, and bloodthirsty greedy named Netanyahu, who is dragging our region and the entire world into disaster, must be stopped,” Erdogan told a ruling Justice and Development Party evaluation and planning meeting in the capital Ankara on Sunday.

Decrying the “uninterrupted” decades-long massacre in Palestine and how Palestinian children are being killed by “a spoiled state,” Erdogan said that Ankara ensured that the rest of the world saw clearly the “barbarism” in Gaza.

"As Türkiye, we object to the oppression, massacre and injustice that has been going on for 76 years on every platform."

"We stand with the Palestinian people with all our means," he added.

On the US ceasefire proposal announced on Friday, Erdogan said: “Hamas has announced its positive approach to President Biden's latest proposal, similar to its previous ceasefire proposal. Netanyahu's response, however, has been to increase the intensity of bloodshed, massacres, occupation, and genocide policies.”

The aid Türkiye has sent to Gaza continues uninterrupted, Erdogan stated, adding that they are working on multiple fronts to put more economic pressure on Israel.

"We are in close dialogue with Hamas and the Palestinian government. We strongly support efforts to recognise an independent Palestinian state. With Spain, Ireland, and Norway, the number of countries recognising Palestine has reached 147,” he added.

'The right side of history'

Boosting recognition of Palestine will be one of the “most positive responses to Israel's occupation and oppression policies,” he said.

Mentioning that he congratulated the prime ministers of Spain, Ireland and Norway for being “on the right side of history,” Erdogan said he will visit Spain before the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday later this month.

”We are doing and will do whatever is necessary to stop the genocide network and hold it accountable to the law,” he added.

More than 36,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a deadly Israeli offensive on Gaza since last October 7 following a Hamas-led blitz. The majority of those killed have been women and children, with over 82,600 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid Israel's crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the ongoing genocidal war.

Fight against terrorism

Erdogan said that with a series of cross-border operations against terrorist nests in neighbouring northern Iraq and Syria, Türkiye has thwarted plans to surround the country with a terrorist corridor, adding that there is no retreat from this.

"Türkiye cannot find peace or feel secure until the terror-producing swamps in northern Iraq and Syria are drained,” he added

Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations since 2016 across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a PKK/YPG terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

In its nearly 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. the YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.