From the Liveblog of
Friday, May 18, 2018
Turkish PM: Israel ‘imitating Hitler and Mussolini’
ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday urges the Islamic world to show greater unity in supporting the Palestinians, saying Muslim leaders had failed to overcome divisions to oppose Israel’s “tyranny.”
Erdogan addresses thousands in Istanbul at a rally he personally called, hours ahead of an emergency meeting of Islamic leaders he is also hosting over Israel’s handling of deadly clashes on the Gaza border.
The Turkish strongman has reacted with unbridled fury to the reported deaths of 60 Palestinians Monday during the border riots, as well as the move of the US embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“The time has come to stand against Israel’s tyranny,” Erdogan tells a sea of protesters waving Turkish and Palestinian flags.
“I invite all Muslims and all humanity to take action… against those who drag our region and the world into catastrophe with their religious fanaticism,” he adds.
In a hard-hitting speech before Erdogan’s address, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim claimed Israel was “imitating Hitler and Mussolini” by occupying Palestinian territory and disregarding international law.
— AFP
The Times of Israel Community.