Turkish Parliamentary Speaker Slams Israeli 'Savagery'

Turkey's Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Cicek has attacked Israel's "savagery and brutality" against Palestinian civilians, during a meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Member States.



Cicek's comments came at a meeting of the ISIPAB union in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Tuesday, as Israel continued its offensive in Gaza, which has left more than 600 Palestinians dead and 3,500 wounded. The Israeli death toll was 29.



Cicek said: "I condemn Israel's savagery and brutality against Palestinian civilians."



 "Unfortunately, it's not the first time that Israel has performed an attack against Palestine and Israel aims to terrorize Palestinian people by destroying the infrastructure of Gaza as they have also done in the past."



 



'Irreconcilable and stubborn'



 



Cicek said the world was witnessing Israel performing a crime against humanity and reducing international law and humanitarian values to nothing.



He said that, as ISIPAB members, they were protesting against Israel's "irreconcilable, stubborn and aggressive manners" during the peace process, and they should support the Palestinian nation's just claim for an independent and sovereign state.



"This meeting is evidence that we are standing by Palestinian siblings at their hardest times," he added.



He stated that Israel's recent attacks had created a backlash against Israel.



 



Mourning declared



 



Israel had flouted humanitarian values by deliberately killing four children playing on a beach in Gaza, Cicek said, adding that Israel's operations should be stopped immediately.



"If there is no permanent ceasefire, Israel will continue to assault Gaza under various pretexts," he said.



Cicek called on states, organizations and institutes to take action to stop the attacks and demanded Israel release Palestinian prisoners as they promised in 2011 and 2012.



He said: "Three days of mourning for the Palestinian martyrs has been declared in Turkey and worldwide mourning should be declared to make everyone be aware of the issue."



Since July 7, Israel has pounded the embattled coastal enclave with fierce air and naval bombardments with the stated aim of halting Palestinian rocket fire.



Israel's military operation, dubbed "Operation Protective Edge," is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely-populated Gaza Strip – which is home to 1.8 million Palestinians – within the last six years.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Tahran