President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was in Doha, the capital of Qatar, made important statements at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation-Arab League Extraordinary Summit.
Highlights from President Erdoğan's speech;
Beginning his speech by greeting the delegation members, Erdoğan expressed his gratitude to the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, for hosting the summit.
Beginning his remarks, Erdoğan wished God's mercy upon the Palestinians and Qataris who lost their lives in Israel's attack on Qatar and a speedy recovery to the wounded, saying,"May Almighty God bless our martyrs with His paradise and His beauty."
Erdoğan emphasized that Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, and recalled that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League held extraordinary summits during this period. He stated that the threat posed by Israel's aggression to the region was declared to the world at these summits, and continued:
"ISRAEL'S BANDITISM HAS NOW TAKEN TO A NEW DIMENSION"
At these summits, we declared to the world that Israel's escalating aggression now poses a threat to our region that must be definitively stopped. We have repeatedly demonstrated that this distorted mindset, fueled by terrorism, poses a risk to international stability and security. After Palestine, Israel attacked Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, and Syria. It targeted civilian ships off the coast of Tunisia. It assassinated elected politicians and statesmen. Now, it has attacked Qatar, the mediator. This latest attack has now taken Israel's banditry to a new level.
In this regard, I find it very important and meaningful that we hold today's summit in Doha. I emphasize that the world community should see this meeting as a manifestation of the Islamic world's unconditional support for Qatar. I hope the decisions we will make today will once again express this heartfelt sentiment in writing to the world public. I am pleased to observe that Qatar is managing this crisis with dignity under the astute and wise leadership of my esteemed brother, Emir Sheikh Tamim. I reiterate that Turkey always stands with our friend, brother, and ally, Qatar.
It is now undeniable that the Netanyahu government's primary goal is to continue the massacre and genocide in Palestine while simultaneously indiscriminately destabilizing the entire region. We are facing a terrorist mentality that thrives on chaos and bloodshed, and a state that embodies it. This mentality, which blatantly violates the United Nations Charter and defies international law and the rules-based international system, continues to thrive thanks to impunity for its crimes.
"WE HAVE THE POWER TO STOP ISRAEL"
Recently, we've seen some presumptuous Israeli politicians frequently repeat the"Greater Israel" nonsense. Israel's efforts to expand its occupation of neighboring countries are a concrete manifestation of this goal. By God's grace, the Islamic world possesses the wisdom and resources to thwart Israel's expansionist ambitions.
The destabilization of Netanyahu's murderous network has now begun to impose costs on his supporters. Those who unconditionally support Israel in the face of reckless attacks on Qatar have also been forced to react. Certainly, the declaration of intention by some countries to recognize the state of Palestine is a positive step. It would have been desirable to have done so sooner. However, these steps will struggle to yield results unless they are supported by concrete and strong sanctions against Israel. We must intensify our diplomatic efforts to increase sanctions against Israel and utilize international legal mechanisms to hold Israeli officials accountable to justice.
We know that Israel will not stop in the short term without a strong response and sanctions, and will accelerate its policies of occupation and destabilization.
