Erdogan hails recognition of Palestine, denounces Gaza onslaught as genocide

Turkish president calls Netanyahu’s policies attempt to block Palestinian statehood. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has praised countries that have decided to recognise the State of Palestine, saying such steps are "critical milestones" for the two-state solution. Speaking at a UN conference on Palestine in New York on September 22, Erdogan said he hoped recognition would "accelerate the implementation of a two-state solution." He called the decisions by several UN Security Council members to recognise Palestine "quite important, a historic decision." Erdogan strongly criticised Israel’s war in Gaza. "The massacre in Gaza continues with all its violence, and no one in touch with their conscience can remain silent in the face of such genocide," he said. "It is also a fact that today the Palestinian cause has become a global issue." He accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of seeking to make Palestinian statehood impossible. "The aim of Netanyahu’s government is to make the establishment of a Palestinian state impossible, to forcibly displace Palestinians as much as possible," Erdogan said.