Turkish PM calls Israel a 'terrorist state'

ISTANBUL – Reuters

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan described Israel today as a "terrorist state" in carrying out its bombardment of Gaza, underlining hostility for Ankara's former ally since relations between them collapsed in 2010.

His comments came after nearly a week of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel and Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip. An Israeli missile killed at least 11 Palestinian civilians including four children in Gaza on Sunday.

"Those who associate Islam with terrorism close their eyes in the face of mass killing of Muslims, turn their heads from the massacre of children in Gaza," Erdogan told a conference of the Eurasian Islamic Council in Istanbul.

"For this reason, I say that Israel is a terrorist state, and its acts are terrorist acts," he said.

Erdoğan responds to Obama

"I find some leaders' approach quite interesting, they claim that Israel is exercising its self-defense correctly. What kind of justice is this?" Erdoğan said today at the opening ceremony of the 8th Eurasian Islamic Council meeting.