Turkish president Erdogan urges increasing recognition of Palestine

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has welcomed a decision by three European nations to recognise the state of Palestine, urging other countries to make similar decisions.

“I am very pleased with today's announcements" by Norway, Ireland, and Spain that they will recognise the state of Palestine, Erdogan said during his speech at the International Benevolence Awards ceremony in the Turkish capital Ankara on Wednesday.

The decision to recognise the state of Palestine comes as Israel continues its brutal offensive on Gaza, which has been raging relentlessly since October 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.

“Those who provide logistical, military support to occupiers bear the same responsibility for the blood flowing in Gaza as the occupiers themselves,” Erdogan added.

He stressed that as long as Western powers continue to stand behind Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu despite all “his arrogance and recklessness,” massacres in Palestine cannot be prevented.

Gaza is a 'children's cemetery'

The Turkish leader on Wednesday warned that if Zionist expansionism continues like this, the world would be “prone to new conflicts.”

“Israel has lost this war and been condemned in the eyes of humanity,” he said, stressing that Tel Aviv has turned the blockaded Gaza into a huge children's cemetery in the last 229 days of assault.

Palestine is already recognised by eight EU countries: Bulgaria, Poland, Czechia, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Sweden, and the Greek Cypriot administration.

More than 35,700 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 80,000 others injured since last October following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered it to ensure that its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has said he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with their actions during the seven-month Israel's war on Gaza.