Israeli defamation of Erdogan an 'effort to cover up massacres'

The Israeli defamation campaign against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is nothing but an excessive attempt to cover up Israel's atrocities against Palestinians in besieged Gaza, AK Party Deputy Chairman and Spokesperson, Omer Celik, has said.

"The Israeli foreign minister's excessive statement targeting our president is nothing but an effort to cover up the massacres committed by the Israeli government," Celik wrote on X on Saturday.

The reaction came following a tweet by Tel Aviv's top diplomat Israel Katz, in which he shared a picture of Erdogan and Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniya shaking hands during the Hamas chief's Istanbul visit, saying the Turkish leader "should be ashamed".

"Muslim Brotherhood: Rape, massacre, desecration of corpses, burning babies," Katz wrote.

"Child murderers are hostile to any ceasefire and peace initiative. The policy led by our president for ceasefire and peace is targeted by these massacre networks for this reason," Celik responded.

"But no matter what they (Israel) do, they are condemned before humanity and will one day be held accountable before the law," he added.

Over 14,000 children killed by Israel

Flouting the International Court of Justice’s provisional ruling, Israel continues its onslaught on Gaza, where at least 34,049 Palestinians have been killed, and 76,901 injured since October 7, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Over 14,000 of those killed by Israeli attacks are children.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Hostilities have continued unabated, however, and aid deliveries remain woefully insufficient to address the humanitarian catastrophe.