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Turkey’s President Says Hamas ‘Protect Their Land’

By Worthy News’ George Whitten and Stefan J. Bos

ANKARA/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday at a summit of Arab and Islamic leaders that “Hamas protect their land,” suggesting that the group, condemned as a terrorist organization by most Western countries, is involved in a genuine battle against Israel.

The remarks by the leader of Turkey, a member state of the NATO military alliance, were due to raise eyebrows in other Western capitals as Western leaders seek a strategy for ending the Israel-Hamas war without upsetting ally Israel.

Erdogan suggested that Israel, which is believed to have nuclear arms, should be investigated. “Nuclear weapons, whose existence were acknowledged by Israeli ministers, should be investigated. If there are any nuclear bombs smuggled out of the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency, they must be revealed”, he said in televised remarks.

Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu was suspended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last Sunday for suggesting that nuclear weapons are “one of the possibilities” in their country’s conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Erdogan condemned Israel’s government as acting like the “spoiled child of the West” and said it is obliged to compensate for the damage it has caused.

He stressed that “Hamas, who protects their land, cannot be considered the same as occupiers” despite killing 1,400 people in Israel, including toddlers and babies.
“It is a shame that Western countries, which always talk about human rights freedoms, remain silent on the massacres in Palestine.”

PERMANENT PEACE?

Despite his outburst towards Israel, Erdogan said that he supports cease-fire calls and permanent peace in the region. “We are ready to make the necessary efforts, including as a guarantor, to preserve the peace that will be established.”

However, he warned that “Jerusalem is our red line.” He explained, “It is our wish that Jerusalem, known as the city of peace, and all Palestinian lands return to their old times.”

Erdogan spoke in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as the oil-rich kingdom is hosting a joint summit of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Arab and Islamic leaders gathered to discuss a strategy on how to end the Israel-Hamas war. However, Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi suggested the destruction of Israel, saying that there would be a Palestine from the river to the sea.

The Hamas-run health ministry says that Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip – including hospitals, residences, and houses of worship – since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on October 7.

It claims that at least 11,078 Palestinians have been killed, including 4,506 children and 3,027 women. Israel has denied deliberately targeting civilian sites but says Hamas is hiding among civilians, including operating command centers in or near hospitals and refugee camps.

Israel has pledged to destroy Hamas after it murdered 1,400 people and kidnapped more than 200 others on what has been called the “Black Sabbath.” It was the worst recorded atrocities against Jews since the Holocaust, known as the Shoah in Hebrew when 6 million Jews were killed.