Erdogan calls for Netanyahu to be tried for war crimes ‘like Milosevic’

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be put on trial for alleged war crimes just like former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic.

A vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, Erdogan once again refers to Netanyahu as the “butcher of Gaza.”

“Netanyahu, the butcher of Gaza, is not only a war criminal but he will definitely be tried as the butcher of Gaza, just like Milosevic was tried,” Erdogan says in a speech at a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul.

Netanyahu would need to be indicted by an international tribunal in order to stand trial for alleged war crimes. Milosevic was put on trial by a UN tribunal in The Hague on charges of fomenting bloody conflicts as Yugoslavia crumbled in the early 1990s. He died in his cell before the court could reach a verdict.

Erdogan also renews his criticism of the United Nations system, accusing the five permanent members of the UN Security Council of blocking efforts to end the violence.

“On the one side, there are 121 countries that say ‘stop the war’ and ‘no more bloodshed,’ and on the other side, there are three or five countries that give carte blanche to Israel’s attacks,” Erdogan says.