Gaza conflict: ‘Turkey living in a circle of fire,’ says Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has offered blistering criticism of Israel, demanding it immediately recognise an independent Palestinian state and halt its war in the Gaza Strip against Hamas.

"Before the region is exposed to harsher threats, we need to stop the massacre in Gaza now,” Erdogan said before the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Tuesday.

He described Turkey as "living in a circle of fire” in the region.

He criticised Israeli settlers taking land in the West Bank as some in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government called for settlements in the Gaza Strip.

Erdogan said setting aside Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage, "the source of the crisis today is the sustaining of the settlements on the Palestinian lands.”

"If Israel wants a permanent peace in the region, the proliferation-related vision should be stopped once and for all,” Erdogan said. "A free and independent Palestinian state should be recognised within the 1967 borders.”

He also called on funding to immediately resume for the United Nations’ agency for Palestinians, known as UNRWA. Some nations have cut funding to the agency over Israeli accusations that some of its employees took part in the Oct. 7 attack.

Associated Press