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Türkiye renewed its call for urgent international action to end Israel's impunity and prevent further aggression, with its UN envoy stating that "bombing mediators instead of helping them is unacceptable."
Ambassador Burak Akcapar, Türkiye's Permanent Representative to the UN Geneva Office, made the remarks during an emergency meeting at the UN Human Rights Council's 60th session on Tuesday, addressing Israel's September 9 attack on Qatar.
"Türkiye reiterates its call for accountability and for the international community to take urgent and concrete measures to end Israel's impunity and prevent further aggression and escalation," Akcapar said.
The Turkish ambassador expressed strong solidarity with Qatar, describing the attack on Doha as "a heinous assault targeting Qatar's sovereignty and security."
"This is not only a clear violation of international law but also clear evidence that Israel has adopted terrorism as a state policy and its expansionist policies," Akcapar stated.
He emphasized that Israel's ongoing aggression and genocidal intent are currently worsening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, noting, "Israel's violent policies are no longer limited to Palestine but are destabilizing a broader region including Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Tunisia, and most recently Qatar, a mediator state. Bombing mediators instead of helping them is unacceptable."
Akcapar stressed that Israel's unchecked violence poses a serious threat to international peace and security and the rules-based international order.
"Can we allow such disrespect for international law to become the new normal defining our times? Türkiye reiterates its call for accountability and for the international community to take urgent and concrete measures to end Israel's impunity and prevent further aggression and escalation," the ambassador stated.
When asked about a UN investigative commission report that concluded Israel committed genocide in Gaza, Akcapar noted that Israel only responded with "We'll see what happens."
Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus, meeting with officials from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Tuesday, delivered a stark warning about Israel's territorial ambitions that include Cyprus, linking recent military developments to a broader expansionist agenda.
"When the Zionist Israeli administration's expansionist plans put their maps on the table, Cyprus is also included. For them, Cyprus is also part of the Promised Land. That's why they don't want peace and stability in Cyprus. They absolutely don't want the Turkish people in Cyprus to be strong and peaceful," Kurtulmus stated.
The Parliament Speaker revealed concerning military developments: "We are carefully and sensitively monitoring that they have recently been providing support to certain bases in Greek Cyprus and that certain military equipment and ammunition have been shipped to Greek Cyprus."
"We are aware that this military shipment to Greek Cyprus is not an ordinary military shipment," he noted.
Kurtulmus explicitly connected these shipments to a coordinated strategy: "That's why they try to create all kinds of discord and problems in the region, and try to overlap their Zionist goals with the expansionist EOKA goals in the Greek Cyprus with certain support. For this reason, we are carefully and sensitively monitoring that they have recently been providing support to certain bases in Greek Cyprus."
He lastly emphasized regional solidarity against Israeli plans by stating, "This expansionism knows no bounds. We will oppose it together as the conscience of humanity."
Turkish Parliament Speaker described the ongoing situation in Gaza as one of the "most vicious examples" of current times.
"One of the most savage, most vicious examples of these strange times I mentioned is the genocide that Netanyahu and his government have been conducting in Gaza for nearly two years. We're talking about a Palestinian people, a Gaza people, where approximately 75,000 people have been killed before the eyes of the world, with tens of thousands missing," he said.
He detailed the broader oppression: "We're not talking about just Gaza, but a period where conscious oppression is applied to every Muslim everywhere in Palestinian territories. We're talking about a period where not just those with weapons, but even Palestinian farmers pruning their olive trees face persecution."
"We're passing through days where women and children sitting in their homes are forcibly removed and oppressive and cruel Zionists are settled in their place under the name of settlers," he added.
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Kurtulmus stated that the world watches Israel's actions with fear rather than taking action by saying, "The world watches Zionist expansionism with fear, unfortunately, cowering because 'they have power in their hands.' They take their courage from this."
"The media is in their hands, the world financial system is in their hands, the world's political centers are in their hands, I can even say many of the world's capitals are also in their hands, but despite this, thank Allah, they cannot occupy humanity's conscience, they cannot capture humanity's conscience," Kurtulmus concluded.
The diplomatic tensions escalated as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly responded to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's past statements about Jerusalem.
"This is our city Mr. Erdogan. Not your city, our city. It will always remain our city. It will never be divided again," Netanyahu said at the inauguration of Pilgrims' Road, in the City of David archeological park in Jerusalem, on Monday, adding, "That's why I greatly appreciated President Trump's leadership on this issue; when he declared Jerusalem the capital and when all the world's leaders accepted it. Then he moved the American embassy here."
Netanyahu was responding to Erdogan's 2020 parliamentary speech where the Turkish president had said: "Jerusalem is our city, a city from us. In this city that we had to leave in tears during the First World War, it is still possible to come across traces of the Ottoman resistance. Our first qibla al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem are the symbolic mosques of our faith. In addition, this city is home to the holy places of Christianity and Judaism."
The Ottoman Empire ruled over Jerusalem from 1516 to 1917.
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