Holding a press conference following the Presidential Cabinet Meeting, President Erdoğan said: “As was the case yesterday, Türkiye continues to stand with its Palestinian brothers and sisters today as well, doing unconditionally what this requires. However, the Western world, particularly European countries, has once again failed the test of humanity in Gaza. Look, children have been dying, women have been dying, and hospitals have been being bombarded for exactly 25 days.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a press conference following the Presidential Cabinet Meeting at the Presidential Complex.
Making remarks on the issues addressed during the Cabinet Meeting, President Erdoğan congratulated all the citizens once again on the 100th anniversary of the Republic, and remembered with grace the founder of the Republic, Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and all the heroes of the Turkish War of Independence, as well as all the martyrs and ghazis.
“WE CELEBRATED THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR REPUBLIC WITH GREAT PRIDE”
“On behalf of my country and nation, I thank everyone who works sincerely for Türkiye’s development and growth. I extend my gratitude to the leaders of the friendly countries who shared our centennial joy by calling or sending messages to us. I also would like to thank our distinguished guests who honored the Republic Day celebrations held at our foreign missions,” the President said.
President Erdoğan stated: “We, as 85 million, celebrated the 100th anniversary of our Republic with great pride in a way befitting its meaning and importance. Particularly the parade through the Strait of Istanbul demonstrated the level our country has reached in defense industry. The parade, performed by 100 warships and led by TCG Anadolu, our navy’s flagship and the first-ever UCAV carrier in the world, made us proud. I hereby once again congratulate our navy and air forces as well as the Turkish Stars and Solo Türk and all the commanders and personnel of our gallant military, who enabled us to enjoy such a pride. In addition to exhibiting the power of our navy, the parade also contained important strategic messages.”
“WE WILL DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF GAZAN INNOCENTS AND VICTIMS AT EVERY PLATFORM TILL THE VERY END”
Noting that the Republic reached its 100th anniversary at a sad period when Türkiye’s brothers and sisters in Gaza, in Palestine are undergoing a massacre, President Erdoğan stated: “Our Gazan brothers and sisters are being subjected to a massive oppression and massacre since October 7. The Israeli administration, backed with unconditional support by Europe and America, has been committing crimes against humanity in front of the entire world for exactly 25 days.”
President Erdoğan continued his remarks as follows: “The Friendship Hospital, our gift to our Gazan brothers and sisters, was targeted yesterday by Israeli forces, after the Al-Ahli Hospital. This vital health institution that treats cancer patients has become the most recent victim of Israeli barbarism. Cancer patients have lost their access to medicines. Even during times of wars, hospitals cannot be targeted, ambulances carrying patients cannot be hit, countries’ and cities’ health infrastructure cannot be destroyed. This is the biggest difference between organizations and states. States are obliged to abide by the law of war. This attack alone suffices to evidence that Israel doesn’t recognize any law or humanitarian value. As a result of Israel's direct attacks on civilians, 8,500 Palestinians, mostly babies, children and women, have been martyred so far. Our more than 21 thousand Palestinian brothers and sisters have been wounded. According to the United Nations, there are still over a thousand corpses under rubble. The number of the displaced has surpassed a million. A significant majority of the buildings in Gaza have either been annihilated or damaged. The Gazans, whose electricity, water and fuel were cut off three week ago, are being slaughtered through starvation and heavy bombardment. Countries that claim to be the cradle of democracy and human rights are unfortunately blatantly backing this slaughter. Nevertheless, we, as Türkiye, have been displaying a humane, fair and dignified stance since the very first day. We underline at every opportunity that we disapprove of acts targeting civilians. We point out that security cannot be achieved in Gaza by causing more bloodshed, by killing more children, by striking more hospitals, schools, mosques, churches or marketplaces, and by raining more bombs down on Gaza. We believe that Israel, which seems to have completely lost its sense of being a state and acts like an organization, must be stopped immediately. Our discussions to ensure that the perpetrators of war crimes committed in Gaza are held accountable before the law are still underway. We will defend the rights of Gazan innocents and victims at every platform till the very end.”
“PREVENTING THE GAZA MASSACRE IS OUR TOP PRIORITY”
President Erdoğan said: “With the Grand Palestine Rally we held at Atatürk Airport on October 28, we showed that we stand with our Gazan brothers and sisters. The rally, attended by over 1.5 million people, was closely followed in many parts of the world, particularly in Israel. A protector of innocents and victims, our country demonstrated its sensitivity on this issue in a very strong manner. People with ethics, conscience and sensitivity took to the streets in different places of the world from London to Paris, New York to Berlin, Pakistan to Lebanon on Sunday for the Gazan innocents. To us, it is very valuable that such reactions arise in Western countries which forbid, in the name of solidarity with Israel, not only rallies but even the Palestinian flag. I hereby once again offer my gratitude to party chairpersons, artists, foreign guests and over 1.5 million brave people who participated in the rally in Istanbul and rose up for Gaza.”
Describing the prevention of the massacre in Gaza, which is now in its 25th day, as Türkiye’s top priority, President Erdoğan said: “To this end, a ceasefire should be declared first and then the path to a permanent peace should be cleared. We are of the opinion that an ‘International Peace Conference on Palestine-Israel,’ to be held with the participation of all the relevant parties, will serve as the most appropriate platform in this direction. We think that the establishment of a new security mechanism in cooperation with the regional actors is necessary. We are ready to take responsibility if such a step is taken. Our goal is to get our region out of this maelstrom, into which it has been dragged.”
“WE ENDEAVOR TO DEFEND OUR GAZAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS WITH ALL OUR CAPABILITIES”
President Erdoğan went on to say: “While working to end the war through diplomatic means, we are also endeavoring to defend our Gazan brothers and sisters with all our capabilities. We have thus far dispatched 10 planeloads of aid supplies to Al-Arish Airport in coordination with Egyptian authorities. We have sent our 54 officials, including doctors, healthcare professionals, AFAD and Red Crescent personnel, and members of the press to the region. The aid supplies sent by our country, some of which have already reached our Gazan brothers and sisters, total nearly 213 tones. As more and more humanitarian aid trucks are allowed into Gaza through the Rafah gate, we will increase our aid concurrently. It is important that the international community exert pressure on the Israeli administration to keep the Rafah gate open. As was the case yesterday, Türkiye continues to stand with its Palestinian brothers and sisters today as well, doing unconditionally what this requires. However, the Western world, particularly European countries, has once again failed the test of humanity in Gaza. Look, children have been dying, women have been dying, and hospitals have been being bombarded for exactly 25 days. 2.3 million innocent Gazans in 360 square kilometers have been struggling to survive for exactly 25 days. All the humanitarian attributes have been being exterminated one by one in Gaza for 25 days.”
“HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS REMAIN INDIFFERENT TO THE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY”
“However, the European Union cannot even call for ceasefire, let alone condemn Israel. International media outlets cannot utter even one single critical sentence even though over 34 colleagues of theirs have been massacred in Gaza. So much so that, they, in unison, are unscrupulously seeking excuses for Israel’s atrocities. The United Nations Security Council stands idly by as the UN bodies and personnel are being targeted in Gaza. Human rights organizations remain indifferent to the crimes that have been being committed against humanity for exactly 25 days. In short, those who cause quite a stir when the issue is Türkiye and the Islamic world prefer to lie low in the face of war crimes committed by Israel. Let me say it openly that those who are bystanders to deaths of thousands of Gazan children today will have no credibility for anything they might say on any topic tomorrow. What matters is to speak up in tough times and tell the truth. No good can come to humanity or the world from the so-called human rights defenders who remain silent about Israel's massacres. This is what we believe in and act accordingly. We never bow down to threats, no matter from whom they come, and never hesitate to cry out the truth. We will inshallah maintain our firm and determined stance,” the President stated.