Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc has slammed the United States and Israel over blocking a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and committing genocide in the besieged territory.
Speaking to reporters in Istanbul on Saturday, Tunc also criticized international institutions’ failure to halt the violence in Gaza where over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since last October.
He condemned Washington’s support for Israel, particularly highlighting the standing ovation that most members of the US Congress gave last month to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he recounted the Tel Aviv regime’s genocidal war in Gaza during a speech at the Congress.
“The members of that Congress, by applauding, declared to the world their complicity in crimes of genocide. We witnessed a dark stain in world history,” Tunc said.
The Turkish justice minister criticized Israel for disregarding over a hundred UN resolutions over the past century and condemned the lack of enforcement by international bodies, particularly the UN Security Council.
Tunc also reaffirmed Turkey’s unwavering support for Palestine through diplomatic efforts and humanitarian aid.
He stressed the need for an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into Israeli atrocities to proceed swiftly and for the International Court of Justice to address its violations of the Genocide Convention.
He made the remarks before the gala screening of the documentary al-Shifa Hospital – 14 Days of Horror.
The medical complex in northern Gaza was destroyed by Israeli forces in front of the eyes of the world, with a great many people killed, he said.
Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 last year after Palestinian resistance groups carried out a surprise retaliatory operation into the occupied territories.
Over more than 10 months of war, the Israeli regime has been enforcing a near-total siege on the coastal territory, which has reduced the flow of foodstuffs, medicine, electricity, and water into the Palestinian territory into a trickle.
So far during the military onslaught, the regime has killed at least 40,334 Gazans, including 17,000 children and more than 10,000 women. Another 93,356 Palestinians have sustained injuries as well.