ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that his country will seek to hold Israel accountable for the crimes it has comm...
ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that his country will seek to hold Israel accountable for the crimes it has committed in the Gaza Strip and will not allow it to "set the region on fire."
"We will oppose Israel's attempts to set the region on fire. Israel, which is committing genocide [in Gaza], will be held accountable," Erdogan said at a ceremony marking the 2001 founding of the ruling Justice and Development Party that he heads.
Erdogan also said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will address the Turkish parliament on Thursday. The republic's parliament will have an emergency meeting on that day in support of Palestine. "Abbas will be our guest today, while tomorrow he will address the parliament. He will announce to the whole world Palestine's struggle for freedom. We will show the whole world that Abbas has the same right to speak in our parliament as [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has in the United States," the Turkish president said.
Turkish authorities condemned Netanyahu's speech to the US Congress on July 24 and invited Abbas to address the local parliament on August 15.
Abbas arrives in Turkey on Wednesday evening for a two-day visit and will meet Erdogan on the same day.
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