Erdogan accuses Israel of dragging entire region ‘into war’

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Tuesday. AFP

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday accused Israel of dragging the entire region “into war” after waves of attacks in recent days against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“What more are you waiting for to stop the massacre network that endangers also the lives of its own citizens along with the Palestinian people and drags the entire region into war for the sake of its political prospects?” Erdogan asked at the UN General Assembly.

Erdogan slammed the UN for inaction on Gaza, which he said has turned into “the world’s largest children’s and women’s cemetery.”

“Not only children but also the UN system is dying in Gaza,” Erdogan told the UN General Assembly. “The truth, the values that the West claims to defend are dying … I ask openly: Hey human rights organizations, aren’t those in Gaza and West Bank human beings?”