Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday (Sep 23) accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. Showing images of the destruction, he said that “innocent people are dying” as the leaders meet at the annual session of the UN. He further said that there is no war in Gaza, adding that it was an invasion and a policy of mass massacre.
“A genocide is continuing in Gaza; even as we meet here, innocent people are dying,” Erdogan said.
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“We cannot possibly talk about the presence of two sides in Gaza, because in Gaza, on one side, there is a regular army with the most modern, most lethal weapons, and on the other hand, there are innocent civilians, innocent children. This is not a fight against terrorism. This is an occupation, deportation, exile, genocide, and destruction of life,” he said.
Erdogan slammed the actions of Israel in the West Bank, “where Hamas is not in power,” and condemned the “attacks on Syria, on Iran, Yemen, and Lebanon.” He also criticised the recent Israeli strike on Qatar earlier this month, which targeted Hamas’s leadership but failed to eliminate them.
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“[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is obviously not interested in forging peace or releasing the hostages. Not only Israel’s neighbours, but all countries in the Middle East are subject to the Israeli government’s reckless threats,” he said, adding that Israel’s actions threaten “the values that emerged after the Second World War.”
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He also went on to blame Israel for the shelving of “fundamental human rights” around the world.

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