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Turkey’s Erdogan Says Israel’s Netanyahu Will Be Tried as ‘War Criminal,’ Calls Him ‘Butcher of Gaza’
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan attends the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo: Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a “butcher” who would be tried as a “war criminal” over Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza, upping his anti-Israel rhetoric as relations between the two countries continued to decline.
“Beyond being a war criminal, Netanyahu, who is the butcher of Gaza right now, will be tried as the butcher of Gaza, just as Milosevic was tried,” Erdogan said in a speech to an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) committee meeting in Istanbul. The Turkish leader was referring to Yugoslav ex-President Slobodan Milosevic, who was tried for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes at a tribunal in The Hague.
Erdogan — who falsely accused Israel of attempting to uproot Palestinians from all of Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem — also lambasted Western countries for supporting Israel.
“Those who try to skip over the deaths of all those innocent people by using the excuse of Hamas have nothing left to say to humanity,” he added, referring to Western powers, which he called “blind and deaf.”
Erdogan has been one of Israel’s harshest critics since Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists murdered over 1,200 people and kidnapped 240 others during their massacre across southern Israel. The Palestinian terror group’s surprise invasion from neighboring Gaza sparked the current conflict, in which Israel has been targeting Hamas with air strikes and ground operations.
Last month, Erdogan called Israel a terror state and accused it of committing war crimes in Gaza.
“With the savagery of bombing the civilians it forced out of their homes while they are relocating, it is literally employing state terrorism,” Erdogan said of Israel while speaking in Turkey’s parliament. “I am now saying, with my heart at ease, that Israel is a terror state.”
Erdogan called for Israeli leaders to be tried for war crimes at the International Court of Justice in The Hague and echoed his claim that Hamas is not a terrorist organization but a legitimate political party.
Hamas has notoriously used civilians as “human shields” in conflicts with Israel, trying to prevent them from evacuating war zones and placing their weapons and command centers for planning terror attacks in hospitals and other civilian sites.
Turkey hosts senior Hamas officials and, together with Iran and Qatar, has provided a large portion of the Palestinian terror group’s budget.
Several Western and Arab states designate Hamas, an offshoot of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, as a terror group.
However, Erdogan has defended Hamas terrorists as “resistance fighters” against what he described as an Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.
Israel withdrew all its troops and civilian settlers from Gaza in 2005.
Since Oct. 7, Erdogan has repeatedly lambasted Israel and defended Hamas, threatening the former for “not behaving like a state” and praising the latter as “a liberation organization that is waging a struggle for its land.”
Last month, Erdogan said he was suspending all communication with Netanyahu, citing Israel’s actions in Gaza as the reason. The Turkish president clarified that Turkey was not fully severing diplomatic relations with Israel, an option he dismissed as unwise.
Israel recently announced that it was reevaluating its relationship with Turkey due to Turkey’s increasingly hostile rhetoric and continued support for Hamas.
Israel and Turkey had restored full diplomatic ties last year, and Erdogan and Netanyahu had met in person for the first time in September, weeks before the Hamas massacre, amid what was then a thawing of bilateral relations after more than a decade of a contentious relationship.
The post Turkey’s Erdogan Says Israel’s Netanyahu Will Be Tried as ‘War Criminal,’ Calls Him ‘Butcher of Gaza’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Germany’s Scholz Rebukes Vance, Defends Europe’s Stance on Hate Speech and Far Right

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks to the media after he met former prisoners following the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West in decades, at the military area of Cologne Bonn Airport in Cologne, Germany, August 1, 2024. Photo: Christoph Reichwein/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivered a strong rebuke on Saturday to US Vice President JD Vance’s attack on Europe’s stance toward hate speech and the far right, saying it was not right for others to tell Germany and Europe what to do.
Vance lambasted European leaders on Friday, the first day of the Munich Security Conference, accusing them of censoring free speech and criticizing German mainstream parties’ “firewall” against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
“That is not appropriate, especially not among friends and allies. We firmly reject that,” Scholz told the conference on Saturday, adding there were “good reasons” not to work with the AfD.
The anti-immigration party, currently polling at around 20% ahead of Germany’s February 23 national election, has pariah status among other major German parties in a country with a taboo about ultranationalist politics because of its Nazi past.
“Never again fascism, never again racism, never again aggressive war. That is why an overwhelming majority in our country opposes anyone who glorifies or justifies criminal National Socialism,” Scholz said, referring to the ideology of Adolf Hitler’s 1933-45 Nazi regime.
Vance met on Friday with the leader of AfD, after endorsing the party as a political partner — a stance Berlin dismissed as unwelcome election interference.
Referring more broadly to Vance’s criticism of Europe’s curtailing of hate speech, which he has likened to censorship, Scholz said: “Today’s democracies in Germany and Europe are founded on the historic awareness and realization that democracies can be destroyed by radical anti-democrats.
“And this is why we’ve created institutions that ensure that our democracies can defend themselves against their enemies, and rules that do not restrict or limit our freedom but protect it.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot added his voice to the defense of Europe’s stance on hate speech.
“No one is required to adopt our model but no one can impose theirs on us,” Barrot said on X from Munich. “Freedom of speech is guaranteed in Europe.”
UKRAINE
The prospect of talks to end the Ukraine-Russia war had been expected to dominate the annual Munich conference after a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week, but Vance barely mentioned Russia or Ukraine in his speech to the gathering on Friday.
Instead, he said the threat to Europe that worried him most was not Russia or China but what he called a retreat from fundamental values of protecting free speech – as well as immigration, which he said was “out of control” in Europe.
Many conference delegates watched Vance’s speech in stunned silence. There was little applause as he delivered his remarks.
Asked by the panel moderator if he thought there was anything in Vance’s speech worth reflecting on, Scholz drew laughter and applause in the crowd when he responded, in a deadpan manner: “You mean all these very relevant discussions about Ukraine and security in Europe?”
The post Germany’s Scholz Rebukes Vance, Defends Europe’s Stance on Hate Speech and Far Right first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Team to Start Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks in Saudi Arabia in Coming Days, Politico Reports

US Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) speaks on Day 1 of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, July 15, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar
Senior officials from US President Donald Trump’s administration will start peace talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Saudi Arabia in the coming days, Politico reported on Saturday, citing sources familiar with the plan.
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Saudi Arabia, the report said. Special envoy for Ukraine-Russia talks, Keith Kellogg, will not be in attendance, according to the report.
The post Trump Team to Start Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks in Saudi Arabia in Coming Days, Politico Reports first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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UN Peacekeeping Mission Deputy Commander Injured After Convoy Attacked in Beirut

FILE PHOTO: A UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicle is seen next to piled up debris at Beirut’s port, Lebanon October 23, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
The outgoing deputy force commander of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) in Lebanon was injured on Friday after a convoy taking peacekeepers to Beirut airport was “violently attacked,” UNIFIL said.
The mission demanded a full and immediate investigation by Lebanese authorities and for all perpetrators to be brought to justice, it said in a statement.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun condemned the attack on Saturday, saying that security forces would not tolerate anyone who tries to destabilize the country, according to a statement from his office.
The French government also condemned the attack.
“France calls on the Lebanese security forces to guarantee the security of blue-helmet peacekeeping forces, and calls on Lebanon’s judicial authorities to shed all light on this unacceptable attack and to go after those responsible,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
Lebanon’s Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar called for an emergency meeting before noon on Saturday to discuss the security situation, Lebanese state news agency NNA reported.
“He affirmed the Lebanese government’s rejection of this assault that is considered a crime against UNIFIL forces,” NNA reported, citing the minister.
He also gave instructions to work on identifying the perpetrators and referring them to the relevant judicial authorities.
The minister told reporters on Saturday that more than 25 people had been detained for investigation over the attack.
The United States earlier condemned the attack. A State Department statement said the attack was carried out “reportedly by a group of Hezbollah supporters”, referring to the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon.
The post UN Peacekeeping Mission Deputy Commander Injured After Convoy Attacked in Beirut first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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