SNA (Tokyo) — Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has publicly rejected the notion that the continuing Israeli military attacks on Gaza represent a legitimate response to the threat of the Islamist Palestinian militant group Hamas.

These attacks “have long passed the point of being self-defense,” Erdogan asserted. “It is now oppression, atrocity, massacre, and barbaric.”

The Turkish president also stated: “Israel! We will proclaim you as a war criminal to the world… Hamas is not a terrorist organization. It is a group of mujahideen defending their lands.”

Mujahideen is an Arabic-language term which denotes, in its broadest sense, those who struggle on behalf of a righteous cause.

The Israeli government reacted sharply to Erdogan’s criticism. Foreign Minister Eli Cohen responded that “given the grave statements coming from Turkey, I have ordered the return of diplomatic representatives there in order to conduct a reevaluation of the relations between Israel and Turkey.”

Erdogan, who was speaking at a large pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul, also emphasized that he cast blame for the recent bloodshed on Israel’s backers in the United States and Europe.

“I am asking the West: Do you want to create another Crusader War? The main culprit behind the massacre unfolding in Gaza is the West.”

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