Turkey/Israel - Turkish PM admonishes Israel president over Gaza - "You kill people", Erdogan tells Peres - by JOHN DANISZEWSKI and MATT MOORE
Turkey's prime minister stalked off the stage at the Davos World Economic Forum red-faced Thursday after reproaching Israel's president over the Gaza offensive by saying "You kill people." The packed audience, which included President Barack Obama's close adviser Valerie Jarrett, appeared stunned as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli President Shimon Peres raised their voices and traded accusations. Peres was passionate in his defense of Israel's 23-day offensive against Hamas militants, launched in reaction to eight years of rocket fire aimed at Israeli territory. As he spoke, Peres often turned toward Erdogan, who in his remarks had criticized the Israeli blockade of Gaza, saying it was an "open air prison, isolated from the rest of the world" and referred to the Palestinian death toll of about 1,300, more than half of those civilians.
"You kill people," Erdogan told the 85-year-old Israeli leader. "I remember the children who died on beaches. I remember two former prime ministers who said they felt very happy when they were able to enter Palestine on tanks."
When Erdogan was asked to stop, he angrily stalked off, leaving fellow panelists U.N. Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon and Arab League Secretary Amr Moussa."When it comes to killing, you know it too well," the Turkish leader said. When the moderator tried to cut short Erdogan's remarks, saying it was past time to adjourn for dinner, he answered in frustration, "Don't interrupt me. You are not allowing me to speak. "He then said: "I will not come to Davos again." Ultimately, Erdogan stressed he left not because of a dispute with Peres but because he was not given time to respond to the Israeli leader's remarks. Erdogan also complained that Peres had 25 minutes while he was only given 12 minutes. "I did not target at all in any way the Israeli people, President Peres, or the Jewish people," Erdogan told a news conference afterward. "I am a prime minister, a leader who has specifically expressly stated that anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment