Erdogan says US ‘complicit in alleged Israeli war crimes’

NATO member Turkiye has denounced Israel’s assault on Gaza, halted trade with it, and voiced support for Hamas. (AFP)
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ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said US President Joe Biden and his administration are complicit in what he called Israeli war crimes and violations of international law in the Gaza conflict, and he called for sanctions against Israel.

In an interview with Newsweek during the NATO summit in Washington, Erdogan said Israel’s “brutal murder” of civilians and its strikes on hospitals, aid centers, and elsewhere constituted war crimes.

“The US administration, however, disregards these violations and provides Israel with the most support. They do so at the expense of being complicit in these violations,” Erdogan said.

“At this juncture, who will impose what kind of sanction against Israel for violating international law? That is the real question, and no one is answering it,” he said.

More than 38,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, have been killed since the war broke out on Oct. 7, according to Gaza medical authorities.

NATO member Turkiye has denounced Israel’s assault on Gaza, halted trade with it, and voiced support for Hamas.

It has repeatedly criticized Western countries for backing Israel and called for Israel to be punished by international courts.