ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has asked the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to convene an emergency meeting to discuss the ongoing war in Gaza.
President Erdogan, who has been a vocal critic of Israel during its war against the Hamas in the Gaza Strip, called on Islamic nations at the weekend to form an alliance against Israel’s “expansionism”.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, he stated Israel was attacking the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem as part of its “expansionist” campaign. The President said that Jerusalem as well as the mosque was Ankara’s red line.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has 57 member countries and is the collective voice of the Muslims across the world.
“It is urgent that the OIC convenes at the leadership level without losing more time,” President Erdogan said. He said that Ankara would apply to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague over Israel’s killing of a Turkish-American citizen, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, at a protest demonstration in the West Bank last week. President Erdogan said that they would take every legal measure for her blood not to remain on the ground.
He further said that the genocide-committing Israeli leaders would absolutely be held accountable for the crimes it has carried out.
