Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan told Pope Francis in a phone call that "Israeli attacks
against Gaza have reached the level of a massacre", the Turkish
presidential office in Ankara said on Thursday.
During the conversation, the office added that Erdogan also
criticised the lack of indignation on the part of the
international community regarding the attacks against the Gaza
Strip in retaliation for the October 7 surprise Hamas terrorist
attack against Israel.
Erdogan also reportedly appealed for support for Turkey's
efforts to send humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza and
said that "lasting peace in the region, which is home to the
holy sites of the three monotheistic religions, will only be
possible with the creation of an independent, sovereign and
geographically integrated State of Palestine within the 1967
borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital".
On Wednesday Erdogan accused Israel of committing "premeditated
act of crime against humanity" by allegedly attacking civilians
in Gaza and said Hamas is not a terror organization but "an
organization of liberation, of mujahedeen, who fight to protect
their land and citizens".
In Italy, Deputy Premier and Transport Matteo Salvini described
his comments as disgusting" and said he would ask Deputy Premier
and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to summon the Turkish
ambassador and lodge a formal protest.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
