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Turkish President Erdoğan (March 2020): Harsh criticism from Washington
Photo: Mustafa Kaya / dpa
The USA and Turkey are NATO partners.
Nevertheless, there are always upsets between the two countries, now also in connection with the escalation in the Middle East.
The US government has criticized statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan about the Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip as "anti-Semitic".
"The United States strongly condemns the recent anti-Semitic statements made by President Erdoğan about the Jewish people and considers them reprehensible," said State Department spokesman Ned Price in Washington on Tuesday.
"We call on President Erdoğan and other Turkish politicians to refrain from inciting remarks that could incite further violence," added Price.
There is nowhere room for anti-Semitic speeches.
Erdoğan had recently accused Israel of "terrorism" against the Palestinians and said that this was "in the nature" of the Israelis.
“They are murderers, they kill children who are five or six years old.
They are not satisfied until they give their blood, ”Erdoğan had said.
It was not clear from Price's words to which formulation the USA was referring in its clear disapproval.
The Turkish president had also attacked his US counterpart Joe Biden for his support for Israel.
Biden therefore has "bloody hands," said Erdoğan.
The fighting in the Middle East continued with undiminished severity on Wednesday night, despite all international calls for moderation.
The Israeli Air Force bombed the Gaza Strip again.
The houses of several Hamas fighters who were used as command centers or weapons depots were destroyed, said the Israeli military.
Israeli artillery also fired on targets in the southern Gaza Strip early on Wednesday, eyewitnesses reported.
Palestinian militants fired rockets at the cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon and Beersheba, and thousands of people sought refuge there in air raid shelters.
There was also fighting in the West Bank
Clashes also flared up in the occupied West Bank, where, according to the military, Israeli forces shot a Palestinian who was attempting to attack them with a rifle and improvised explosives. Another Palestinian was killed by Israeli forces during a demonstration in the West Bank, the Ministry of Health announced. The military said the soldiers came under fire and shot back.
The Israeli army said that more than 3,450 rockets have been fired at Israel by Gaza ruling Hamas and other radical Palestinian groups since the fighting began.
The military killed around 160 extremists with air strikes and artillery fire.
The authorities in the Gaza Strip speak of 217 Palestinians killed, including 63 children.
More than 1,400 people were injured.
According to the authorities, twelve people were killed in Israel, including two children.
The United Nations are struggling to find a common course
In the UN Security Council on Tuesday, even at the fourth emergency meeting in eight days, there was no agreement on a joint statement on the conflict.
According to diplomats, the declaration failed again because of resistance from Washington, which refuses to condemn its ally Israel.
Meanwhile, France submitted a new draft resolution that was drawn up in coordination with Egypt and Jordan.
The three heads of state agreed on three "simple" demands, declared the Elysée Palace in Paris.
"The shelling must end, the time for a ceasefire has come and the UN Security Council must take care of the matter."
jok / AFP
