Shooting hospitals, killing children not in Torah: Erdogan slams Israel

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday slammed the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, stating that “shooting hospitals and killing children does not exist in the Torah."

The Torah is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses by Christians. It is known as the Written Torah in Jewish tradition.

"Look, places of worship are hit, churches are hit, hospitals are hit. But shooting hospitals, killing children, these things are not in the Torah, you can't do that. It's not the Declaration of Human Rights, you cannot do it. That's why we shouldn't look at the Israel-Palestine war with the psychology of indebtedness”, Erdogan said.

Speaking further at a joint news conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, before the two leaders held private talks, Erdogan said that Germany supported Israel in the Gaza war out of guilt over the Holocaust.

Also Read:Sweden grapples with escalating gang wars, rising involvement of youth

The Turkish President also drew a contrast with Turkey, which he said was able to speak without bias.

"Those who feel indebted to Israel cannot speak freely. We did not go through the Holocaust process, we don't have such a situation, because our respect for humanity is different," the Turkish president said.

"Look, we can talk freely because we don't owe Israel anything," Erdogan said.

It is to be noted that Germany has seen a rise in both antisemitism and Islamophobia since the conflict began and the government has faced criticism for making it hard to hold pro-Palestinian protests due to concerns about antisemitic sentiments associated with such demonstrations.

During World War Two, Germany systematically killed 6 million Jews and 5 million other victims and its post-war identity is based on deep atonement for the Holocaust. Modern Israel was founded in 1948 as a safe haven for Jews.

On October 7, Hamas fighters launched an unprecedented attack on Israeli settlements, which has claimed the lives of around 1, 200 people, also taking some 240 hostages.

In retaliation, Israel invaded Gaza with the goal of eliminating Hamas. According to the Palestinian authorities, more than 12,000 have so far died in the war, most of them women and children.

Also Read:Israeli army kills 5 Palestinians in West Bank