West’s support for Israel influenced by Holocaust shame: Erdogan

Western powers’ unconditional support for Israel’s deadly offensive on Gaza will continue at the expense of violating their own principles, “influenced in part by the shame” of the Nazi Holocaust, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

“Except for a few brave souls” there has been little visible Western media reaction to the horrors of a nine-month Israeli offensive on Gaza, Erdogan said Saturday, adding: “They ignored genocide, disregarded the cries of the oppressed.”

"Since October 7, they have continued to play ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.’ Instead of resisting the pressures of the Zionist lobby, they chose to surrender. They buried the values they defended for decades in mass graves in Gaza by supporting Israel with their own hands,” he said, during his speech at the Martyr Mustafa Cambaz photo competition award ceremony in the Island of Democracy and Freedom.

Stressing that those who have long lectured others on press freedom and claimed to uphold human rights and freedoms have now revealed their true faces, Erdogan stated: "Whatever is happening is unfolding before the eyes of all of us, of humanity.”

“Those who remain indifferent to the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza don't even feel the need to hide their heartlessness, hypocritical policies,” he added.

Stating that nearly 150 journalists have lost their lives in Israeli attacks and that offices of global media organisations were raided and shut down by police, Erdogan said Israel “violated, trampled upon, and shredded every principle of press freedom.'"

Also criticising the Islamic world for falling short of acting against the carnage in Gaza, Erdogan added that not only international organisations but also institutions of the Islamic world have “failed to pass the test on Gaza.”

“While rightfully criticising the Western world for the massacres in Gaza, I believe Muslims also need to hold ourselves accountable,” Erdogan said.

“With a population of over 2 billion, and economic power surpassing trillions of dollars, it is incumbent upon all of us to wonder why the Islamic world cannot influence Israel,” he added.

Gaza faces genocide, not war

Türkiye has stated “clearly” at this week’s NATO summit in Washington, DC that more pressure needs to be put on the Israeli government for peace in the region, Erdogan said earlier today.

Erdogan added that no country in the region including Türkiye can feel 100 percent safe as long as Israel continues to seek its security by occupying more land.

“What has been happening in Gaza since last October 7 is not a war, it is genocide,” he said.

Ankara desires a ceasefire to be declared soon so that the people of Gaza can breathe “a little easier,” he said during his speech at the National Defense University Graduation Ceremony.

On Türkiye’s counter-terrorism operations around its borders, Erdogan said Türkiye will soon be “closing the lock” in the anti-terrorist Operation Claw Zone in northern Iraq.

Earlier this year, Erdogan suggested that this summer would see a decisive Turkish push against terrorists in northern Iraq, near the Turkish border.

Terrorist groups, especially the PKK, often hide out in northern Iraq to plot attacks on Turkish soil, but Türkiye has made decisive strides against them in recent years.

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 over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.