Turkey's Erdogan calls Israel a 'child-murderer' state

Turkey's Erdogan calls Israel a 'child-murderer' state
Mon Dec 11, 2017 08:26:34

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel a "terrorist" and "child-murderer state" in an address Sunday as he criticized President Donald Trump over his recognition of al-Quds (Jerusalem) as Israel's capital.

(CNN) -- "(al-Quds) Jerusalem is the apple of our eye. We will not abandon it to the child-murderer state. We will not abandon it to an occupier state," Erdogan said in an address in the Turkish city of Sivas.

"We will continue our struggle within law and democracy. In Istanbul we will unite Islamic countries, leaders and heads of states. Our road map will show that it will not be easy for them to realize their plans," Erdogan said. He also said Trump's al-Quds announcement was "null and void."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Erdogan on Sunday, saying: "I'm not used to receiving lectures about morality from a leader who bombs Kurdish villagers in his native turkey, who jails journalists, who helps Iran go around international sanctions, and who helps terrorists, including in Gaza, kill innocent people. That is not the man who is going to lecture us."

Speaking from Paris, where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron, Netanyahu said that al-Quds (Jerusalem) has "always been our capital, and (al-Quds) Jerusalem has never been the capital of any other people. I think the sooner the Palestinians come to grips with this reality, the sooner we'll move towards peace."

Israel launched airstrikes early Saturday against what it said were Hamas targets in Gaza, after several rockets were fired out of Gaza towards Israel. Two Palestinians were killed in those airstrikes, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

More than 300 people were injured Friday across the West Bank, Gaza and al-Quds, 50 of whom needed hospital treatment, during protests against Trump's decision, according to the Palestinian Authority's Health Ministry.

(Photo: ekathimerini)

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