Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday the Palestinian militant group Hamas is not a terrorist organisation but a liberation group waging a battle to protect its land.
In a speech to his party's lawmakers in parliament, Erdogan said Israel had taken advantage of Turkey's good intentions and he will not go to Israel as previously planned.
Erdogan called for an immediate ceasefire between Israeli and Palestinian forces and said Muslim countries must act together for lasting peace, calling on world powers to pressure Israel to halt its attacks.
He said he was saddened by the “inability” of the UN to agree on a resolution regarding Israel's bombardment of Gaza and to call for a humanitarian ceasefire there.
Erdogan called for reform of the UN, saying the Security Council needed to be more inclusive.
However, Italy's deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini condemned Erdogan's words that Hamas was a liberation movement not a terrorist group, defining them as “grave and disgusting”.
Hamas is not a terrorist organisation but a liberation group: Erdogan
Image: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday the Palestinian militant group Hamas is not a terrorist organisation but a liberation group waging a battle to protect its land.
In a speech to his party's lawmakers in parliament, Erdogan said Israel had taken advantage of Turkey's good intentions and he will not go to Israel as previously planned.
Erdogan called for an immediate ceasefire between Israeli and Palestinian forces and said Muslim countries must act together for lasting peace, calling on world powers to pressure Israel to halt its attacks.
He said he was saddened by the “inability” of the UN to agree on a resolution regarding Israel's bombardment of Gaza and to call for a humanitarian ceasefire there.
Erdogan called for reform of the UN, saying the Security Council needed to be more inclusive.
However, Italy's deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini condemned Erdogan's words that Hamas was a liberation movement not a terrorist group, defining them as “grave and disgusting”.
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