Erdoğan Says Gaza Crisis Is Testing UN’s Credibility
Turkish president urges stronger action to protect Palestinians, calls for Gaza reconstruction and renewed reform of the UN Security Council.
By Abdullahi Yusuf
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called for stronger international action to protect Palestinians and rebuild Gaza, warning that the continuing crisis in the Middle East is testing the credibility of the international system and the ability of the United Nations to protect civilians.
Addressing the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, Erdoğan placed Palestine at the center of his speech, expressing concern over the absence of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from the General Assembly for a second consecutive year.
He said the situation represented an injustice to the Palestinian people and reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to speaking from the UN podium for what he described as the rights and aspirations of the State of Palestine.
Erdoğan also renewed his call for countries that have not recognised Palestine to reconsider their positions.
The Turkish president described Gaza as one of the clearest examples of the failure of the international system to prevent mass suffering.
He said the previous 12 months had been among the bloodiest periods of the past three decades, with more than 60 conflicts and wars and hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide.
Turning specifically to Gaza, Erdoğan said more than 74,000 Palestinians had been killed over the previous three years, with women and children making up a large proportion of those killed. He said many families were still searching for relatives beneath the rubble.
Erdoğan also highlighted the impact of the conflict on children, referring to those who had lost limbs and were attempting to return to school and rebuild their lives.
He described Gaza as a territory facing an exceptionally severe humanitarian crisis and said the situation should challenge the international community’s conscience.
The Turkish leader also raised the situation in the West Bank, where he said Palestinians were facing a particularly serious period of settler violence.
He said access to Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem was also being restricted and criticised attempts to undermine the work of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
UN credibility
Erdoğan used the Gaza crisis to question the effectiveness of the United Nations in maintaining international peace and security.
He said the organization had been established to prevent war and protect human rights, but argued that its inability to resolve conflicts had left people in Palestine, Lebanon, and Sudan deeply disappointed.
He said restoring confidence in the international system required concrete action rather than declarations.
“Children in Gaza must be safe,” Erdoğan said, outlining his vision for restoring trust in the international system. He said Palestinian children should be able to look at the sky without seeing fighter jets, drones and other instruments of war.
He also renewed his criticism of the structure of the UN Security Council, arguing that a system in which the decisions of more than 190 countries could be constrained by five permanent members needed reform.
“The world is bigger than five,” he said.
Call for Gaza reconstruction
Erdoğan said Türkiye remained committed to its previous commitments concerning Gaza and called for reconstruction to begin without delay.
He urged the international community to exert greater pressure on Israel, while reiterating Türkiye’s support for Palestinian statehood.
“Attempts to strangle the State of Palestine will fail,” Erdoğan said.
He expressed hope for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital and with territorial integrity.
Erdoğan said Türkiye was working with regional actors to end what he described as the climate of conflict and war that had spread across the Gulf.
The Turkish president also stressed the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important waterway for global energy and trade.
He called for the resolution of disputes in the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean through good-neighbourly relations and international law and said Türkiye’s proposal for an Eastern Mediterranean Conference could provide a platform for dialogue.
Syria, Iraq and regional stability
Erdoğan also addressed developments in Syria, saying the country had entered a new phase after years of conflict.
He said Türkiye would continue supporting the Syrian people and described the country’s movement towards greater safety and peace as an important regional development.
On Iraq, he said Türkiye supported efforts to strengthen state authority and consolidate stability, while highlighting cooperation on transportation and energy projects, including the Development Road Project.
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