President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday slammed the silence of Western news media on the killing of journalists in Gaza, saying, “They have no right to speak on freedom of the press.”
“Not only women and children, Israel has been massacring press members in Gaza, killing over 70 journalists since Oct. 7,” Erdoğan told a media forum in Istanbul.
“Where are the world’s renowned media organizations? Why are they silent?”
“Institutions that have been preaching about the freedom of the press for years remain silent,” he said. Adding, “Those who remain silent about this will have no right to say anything about any other matter.”
He accused global media “cartels” of looking away from the violence in Gaza and trying to “legitimize the massacring of journalists under the pretext of fighting Hamas.”
“It is not the West pouring fuel on the fire who pay the price for every moment lost in achieving lasting peace, but unfortunately the innocents,” Erdoğan declared.
Condemning the “problem-solving incapability of international institutions responsible for global peace,” Erdoğan reaffirmed Türkiye stands ready to shoulder responsibility “to prevent further bloodshed and destruction” in Gaza.
He also argued, “Despite all its barbarity, Israel is failing to break the resilience of the Gazan people and is losing its propaganda war in the media.”
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his accomplices will face trial and be sentenced for their crimes in Gaza,” he said.
Already suffering under an Israeli blockade for more than a decade, the Gaza Strip has been left in ruins since the war began on Oct. 7 with unprecedented attacks by Hamas on southern Israel. The Hamas attacks killed about 1,200 people and they took hostages, 138 of whom remain captive, Israel says.
Weeks of Israel’s bombardment left 17,177 people dead in the Palestinian enclave, mostly women and children.
More than 75 journalists were killed and 140 wounded in Israeli attacks.
Several international rights groups, including Amnesty International, called for investigations into Israel’s indiscriminate targeting of civilians and journalists.
