Turkey Called Israel ‘More Barbaric than Hitler,’ 425 Slaughtered So Far in Palestine ‘Massacre’

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey, accused Israel of "barbarism that surpasses Hitler." Erdogan criticised the Israeli government after it had launched ground invasion in Gaza.

Erdogan has always been quite articulate about his views against Israel's offensives in Gaza. He said that Israel had no honour, no conscience and no pride. "Those who condemn Hitler day and night have surpassed Hitler in barbarism," he said. Erdogan also blamed the Israel Defence Forces for being responsible for the sour relation between Turkey and the Jewish nation. Erdogan was speaking during an election campaign in Ordu. Erdogan's comments apparently echoed the overall sentiment of his country against Israel's operation in Gaza. There have been several protests in Ankara and Istanbul against "Operation Protective Edge."

More than 425 Palestinians have been killed and more than 4,000 injured so far due to Israeli attacks, according to health records in Palestine. There were more than 60 people from one district that got killed on Sunday itself. According to United Nations, the majority of the casualties were civilians.

Israel, on the other hand, said that it was "pleased" with its military efforts. The Israeli military was able to take control of the tunnels which Hamas used to avoid Israeli air-strikes. As Israeli continued its ground invasion with heavy strikes, Palestinian hospitals struggled to accompany injured civilians. The number of wounded people went so high that hospitals in Gaza had to keep the patients in courtyards and corridors.

Israel reduced the number of staffs in Turkey as civilian protests against Israel's Gaza invasion became more severe. Some protesters in Turkey reportedly tore the Israeli flag down while replacing it with that of Palestine. Erdogan, on the other hand, discouraged the protesters against expressing any form of hostility against the Jewish community in the country. The simple reason behind protecting them, he said, is that they are Turkish citizens.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that there was a "massacre" in Shejaiya. According to witnesses, there were corpses lying in the streets. Even though there was a humanitarian ceasefire declared, it was withdrawn before time as each side accused the other for violating the truce. The death toll is expected to rise even further as rescue workers were not able to reach East Shejaiya which suffered heavy shelling.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au