Erdogan calls for UN coercive measures against Israel for stalling ceasefire

Turkey's President Erdogan criticized the UN and Israel's allies for their support of Israel, calling for justice and a ceasefire in Gaza.

By HANNAH SARISOHN SEPTEMBER 24, 2024 18:40

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint statement to the media in Baghdad, Iraq April 22, 2024. (photo credit: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo)

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the United Nations on Tuesday morning in his remarks to the General Assembly for allowing international justice to be left to the five members of the security council, saying the war in Gaza is the most dramatic example. 

Erdogan also slammed Israel's allies for supporting the country in an "unconditional manner."

"How long are you going to be able to carry the shame of witnessing this massacre, dear friends, while children are dying in Gaza, in Ramallah, in Lebanon, while babies are dying in incubators?" Erdogan said. 

Erdogan said the only reason for Israel's aggression against the Palestinian people is the unconditional support of a group of countries. 

Countries that have a say over Israel are openly complicit in this massacre, he said, and those who are supposedly working for a ceasefire in front of the stage continue to send arms and ammunition to Israel so that it can continue its massacres in the background.

A view during United Nations Security Council meeting about the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, at the U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 4, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado)

"I would like to wave at my brothers and sisters at the legitimate resistance in Palestine," he said. 

Turkey supports South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice to "ensure that Israel's crimes do not go unpunished," he said. 

Erdogan demands accountability

"We will take every step necessary for justice to be served in the case for which we have applied," Erdogan said. "Those who murdered 41,000 people cannot rest until those who gave the orders pulled the trigger and dropped the bombs are held accountable for their crimes, we will not heave a sigh of relief."

Erdogan called for coercive measures against Israel in the absence of the implementation of UN Security Council resolution number 2735, the ceasefire proposal announced in May by President Biden, as he said Israel's behavior has once again demonstrated that it is "imperative for the international community to develop a protection mechanism for Palestinians."

"Seventy years ago, just as Hitler was stopped by an alliance of humanity, Netanyahu and his murder network must be stopped by an alliance of humanity," Erdogan said. 

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Erdogan said he believes that the General Assembly's authority to recommend the use of force, as in the 1950 resolution on unity for peace, should be considered in this process.

During this time, an "immediate and a permanent ceasefire must be established, hostages and prisoners must be exchanged, and humanitarian aid must be delivered to Gaza unhindered and uninterrupted," Erdogan said, in his only acknowledgment of the hostages. 

Erdogan accused Israel of dragging its feet in agreeing to a ceasefire, "constantly finding an excuse and sneakily killing its negotiating partner," at a time when it was closest to a ceasefire. 

"Israel's stalling and deception should not be given any more credit," he said.