Muslim leaders gathered for an emergency summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to discuss a coordinated response to the violent events along the Gaza border with Israel. During an address of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish leader underscored the need to hold Israel accountable for – what he termed – “the massacre of innocent people.”
“Israel must certainly be held accountable for the innocent people it has massacred in front of international law. We will follow this issue in the United Nations General Assembly as well. Unfortunately, any step taken towards justice is being vetoed by the U.S. leadership in the Security Council,” Turkish President Erdogan said.
President Erdogan also took the opportunity to compare Israel to Nazi Germany, claiming Israel’s actions against Palestinians to be similar to those committed by the Nazis against Jews during world war two.
“There is no difference between the cruelty inflicted against the Jews 75 years ago in Europe and the one that our brothers in Gaza are facing now. The children of those being subject to all sorts of torture in concentration camps during World War Two are now attacking Palestinians with methods that would put Nazis to shame,” Erdogan said.
The harsh comments by the Turkish leader preceded comments by his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, who called on the Muslim world to confront Israel and the United States and to unite in a global boycott of both countries.