In an interview recorded Wednesday with CNN, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of being a "terror state," saying that the country's operation in Gaza was "creating a wave of terror."
Erdogan also denied that the governments of Turkey or Qatar were involved in the funding of Hamas' terrorist activities, saying the only support his country is offering to the people of Gaza is humanitarian.
Responding to the accusations that "Turkey and Qatar are funding terrorism" made by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Erdogan said: "Israel is a terror state; they are creating a wave of terror with what they're doing now."
Erdogan added that "Qatar is standing by the persecuted and the victims by offering humanitarian aid. Qatar's cooperation with Turkey has always been to be on the side of the persecuted and to support them through humanitarian aid. This is what's being done. To cast a different role to Qatar, or to cast a different role to Turkey, first of all, shows how bad the intention of those casting those roles. Right now, we are a member state of NATO and we are a country which acts within the framework together with our partners in NATO. We have an international identity, a character. We never got involved with terror – we have always fought against terror."
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