Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan strongly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s presence at the UN General Assembly, calling it a disgrace to the international community.
“This is a betrayal to the memory of the babies, children, mothers, fathers, United Nations officials, journalists, and many others who were brutally massacred,” Erdoğan told reporters after his diplomatic trip to New York, where he attended the 79th session of the UN General Assembly.
Erdoğan also commented on the unusual behavior of the Israeli delegation following his speech at the assembly. “They cannot defend themselves. Their posture shows this. That’s why we call on everyone to stand on the right side of history.”
He further criticized the UN’s inability to differentiate between oppressor and oppressed, saying, “An order that cannot distinguish between the oppressed and the oppressor, the murderer, and the victim, and cannot treat each accordingly, is rotten to its core. Either the UN General Assembly will treat that murderer as he deserves, or this disgrace will remain a stain in UN history.”
Erdoğan took a direct shot at the UN, accusing it of failing in its duties. “The UN is incapable of fulfilling its mission to prevent wars, make anyone listen, protect even its own officials, or hold Israel accountable for killing them. I was shocked when Secretary-General António Guterres shared the casualty numbers with me during our meeting.”
The president also addressed the shortcomings of the UN Security Council, highlighting the unchecked power of its five permanent members. “In this system, the five untouchable members of the Security Council can act ruthlessly without consequence.”
Erdoğan then compared Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler, stating, “What’s happening in Lebanon is a serious trauma. Israel is pursuing a dream at the cost of turning the lives of people in our region into a nightmare. Hitler had a dream too, and he gave nightmares to various nations. Sooner or later, Netanyahu, today’s Hitler, will face this reality.”
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.