A complete siege on the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave as “nothing less than genocidal.”
Turkey’s Erdogan says Israel is not acting ‘like a state’ in Gaza
NEW YORK + ISTANBUL
The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations on Tuesday described Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip and vow to impose a complete siege on the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave as “nothing less than genocidal.”
Hamas militants carried out their deadliest attack in Israel’s history on Saturday, when gunmen rampaged through Israeli towns, killing more than 1,000 people and taking scores of hostages to Gaza. Israel has retaliated with air strikes on Gaza that have razed entire districts as it prepares for a possible ground offensive.
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant drew international condemnation by announcing on Monday a “total blockade” to stop food and fuel reaching Gaza, home to 2.3 million people. Gallant said Israel was battling “beastly people.”
“Such blatant dehumanization and attempts to bomb a people into submission, to use starvation as a method of warfare, and to eradicate their national existence are nothing less than genocidal,” Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour wrote in a letter to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, seen by Reuters.
“These acts constitute war crimes,” he wrote.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that his understanding was that “the concept of siege is not something that in fact is going to be pursued by the Israeli government,” adding that Washington was speaking with the Israeli government “about their actions in this regard.”
Sullivan also said US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday discussed “the difference between going full bore against Hamas terrorists and how we distinguish between terrorists and innocent civilians.”
Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan on Sunday accused Hamas of war crimes and said it was time to “obliterate Hamas terror infrastructure,” as the 15-member UN Security Council met behind closed-doors on the conflict.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday said he was “deeply distressed” by Israel’s announcement of a complete siege on Gaza.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely dire before these hostilities; now it will only deteriorate exponentially,” Guterres said.
Turkey’s Erdogan says Israel is not acting ‘like a state’ in Gaza
Israel is not conducting itself “like a state” in the Gaza Strip, Turkey’s president said on Wednesday, as Israel pounded the territory after a Hamas onslaught.
“Israel should not forget that if it acts more like an organization rather than a state, it’ll finish by being treated as such,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, attacking “shameful methods” of the Israeli army in the densely-populated Gaza Strip.
“Bombing civilian sites, killing civilians, blocking humanitarian aid and trying to present these as achievements are the acts of an organization and not a state,” he said.
Erdogan usually uses the word “organization” when he refers to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies.
“We think that a war should have an ethic and that both parties should respect it. Unfortunately, this principle is gravely violated in Israel and in Gaza,” he said, denouncing the “murders of civilians on Israeli territory” and “the blind massacre of innocents in a Gaza subjected to constant bombardment.”
Putin says US is inflaming Middle East by sending aircraft carrier group
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States on Wednesday of inflaming the Middle East by sending an aircraft carrier group to the region, saying “compromise solutions” were needed and that he hoped common sense would prevail.
The Kremlin chief has called the explosion of violence between Israel and the Palestinians a vivid example of the failure of US policy in the Middle East, which he says has taken no account of the needs of the Palestinians.
Following the surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel on Saturday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the US was moving a carrier strike group, which includes the USS Gerald R. Ford, closer to Israel.
Putin, speaking at an energy conference in Moscow, said the US move, which was also fiercely criticized by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, was a mistake.
“I don’t understand why the US is dragging aircraft carrier groups into the Mediterranean Sea. I don’t really understand the point. Are they going to bomb Lebanon or what?” he said.
“Or have they decided to try to scare someone? There are people there who are no longer afraid of anything. This is not the way to solve the problem. Compromise solutions need to be looked for. Of course, such actions are inflaming the situation.”
MBS, Erdogan discuss Israel-Hamas conflict in phone call
The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received a phone call from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Press Agency reported late on Wednesday.
During the call, the Crown Prince said the Kingdom is making unremitting efforts regionally and internationally with the aim of joint coordination to stop the ongoing escalation between Israel and Hamas.
The Saudi Crown Prince reaffirmed the Kingdom’s firm position on supporting the Palestinian cause and the importance of catalysing efforts aimed at achieving a “comprehensive and just peace that guarantees the Palestinian people’s access to their legitimate rights,” the SPA statement added.
Erdogan told Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince that Turkey had started work to get humanitarian aid to civilians hit by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Turkish presidency said.