"We cannot watch the murder of children in Gaza with indifference. This is not humane," said Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose repeated criticism of Israel
recently sparked a diplomatic row
between the countries.
Speaking on Monday at the inauguration ceremony of "TRT al Turkiye", the new channel of the state run TV station TRT, Erdogan said Turkey will always be on the side of Muslims wherever they are.
"We worry about the Gaza children but our hearts are also for the children of Haiti and Chile," he said.
Addressing the heightened tensions in Jerusalem, PM Erdogan said, "We cannot be indifferent to the problems of the Islamic world of Jerusalem. Our task is the integration with the western world but we did not turn our back to the East.
"Arabs and Turks are brothers and we share the same values," he said.
In response to Erdogan's comments the Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying, "Israel is not looking for a confrontation with any country, including Turley. However, it appears as though the Turkish prime minister is looking to integrate into the Muslim world at Israel's expense.
"Erdogan should bemoan the murder of innocent people in Iraq and Pakistan at the hands of terror groups," the ministry said.
Roni Sofer contributed to the report
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