ANKARA, (PIC)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Israel of paying a “heavy price” if it assassinates Hamas members living in Türkiye.
“If they dare to take such a step, they will be doomed to pay a price which they cannot recover from,” Erdogan said on Tuesday.
“Those who attempt such a thing should not forget that the consequences can be extremely serious. No one is unaware of Türkiye’s progress in both intelligence and security fields worldwide,” he said, stressing, meanwhile, that Hamas is a legitimate resistance movement.
Erdogan rejected the reported Israeli plan of establishing a buffer zone in Gaza, saying it is disrespectful to the Palestinian people and affirmed that Gaza’s future should be determined by its own people and Israel must end its occupation of the Palestinian lands.
“Gaza belongs to the Palestinians. We do not recognize any decision-maker that ignores their decisions”, he added.
Erdogan also expressed his country’s readiness to organize a peace conference for the Israel-Palestine conflict and serve as a guarantor nation “as long as they genuinely want peace,” he said.
The Turkish President added that without the backing of Western countries, especially the US, of Israel, the current situation in the region would not exist.
Erdogan charged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing war crimes in Gaza, saying that “Netanyahu will not escape the consequences of what he has done. He will be brought to justice and pay the price for war crimes he committed.”
Erdogan’s warning came after Israeli officials said there would be a “Munich-like” response to the October 7 attacks and after Ronen Bar, the head of Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security service, said that Hamas members living in Qatar, Lebanon and Türkiye would be targeted.
Since October 7, Israeli army has been waging a devastating genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip, killing more than 16,000 Palestinians including 7,112 children, 4,885 women and injuring 43,616 others.
