Reuters reports:
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in his strongest comments yet on the Gaza conflict, said on Wednesday the Palestinian militant group Hamas was not a terrorist organisation but a liberation group fighting to protect Palestinian lands and people.
Speaking to lawmakers from his ruling AK Party, Erdogan also called for an immediate ceasefire between Israeli and Palestinian forces and said Muslim countries must act together to secure a lasting peace in the region.
“Hamas is not a terrorist organisation, it is a liberation group, ‘mujahideen’ waging a battle to protect its lands and people,” he said, using an Arabic word denoting those who fight for their faith.
Read the full article. On Monday, Trump mistook Erdogan for Hungarian leader Viktor Orban.
BREAKING — Erdogan says Hamas isn’t a terror group but patriotic organisation that defends its territories and people.
• “They are the warriors (mujahids)” he says. “We aren’t indebted to Israel. But the West is.”
• “I won’t visit Israel”
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) October 25, 2023
