“This action, totally contrary to the principles of international law, is inhumane state terrorism. No one should think we will keep quiet in face of this,” Erdoğan said. He added that this attack openly and in a clear way displayed that Israel does not want peace in the region.
Noting that he had to cancel his meeting in Chile due to the Israeli attack on the Gaza aid convoy, Erdoğan said in a press conference before he left Chile late on Monday that Israel had violated international law. He said participants were solely involved in a humanitarian mission and added that the ships had obeyed international maritime laws. Noting that there were white flags on the ships during the attack, the prime minister said people were only carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, where women and children live in poor conditions. Rejecting Israeli reports that there were weapons onboard, Erdoğan said Israel's claims are a lie.
Turkey has called for an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council, Erdoğan said, adding that the NATO council will also convene on Tuesday to discuss the Israeli attack.
Criticizing those who defend the attack, Erdoğan said if Israel chooses to stand behind terror and bloody operations, then Turkey chooses to stand by law, peace, justice, Palestine and Gaza. Erdoğan also criticized pro-Israeli media outlets and complained of Israeli censure over the flow of information surrounding the civilian participants of the aid convoy.
The prime minister also said he is not being overly emotional in his reaction. Rejecting claims that Turkey's Jewish community will not be placed under pressure in Turkey, Erdoğan added that Turkey's Jewish citizens will be protected by the state and called on all Turkish citizens to be more sensitive on this issue.
He concluded that Turkey will assess the situation throughout the week and that the country will continue to monitor the situation.
