Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday denounced the UN Security Council after the United States vetoed a ceasefire resolution for Gaza, describing the international body as the ‘Israel protection council,’ Agence France-Presse reported.
“Since October 7, the security council has become an Israel protection and defense council,” Erdoğan said.
“In the UN Security Council meeting, in which the five permanent and temporary members voted, the [call for a] ceasefire was rejected, with only America voting against it. Is that justice? A just world is possible, but not with the US,” President Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan, who has been one of the most vocal critics of the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza that began after militants from the Palestinian group Hamas carried out an unprecedented surprise attack in Israel on October 7 that claimed 1,200 lives, has long called for the United Nations Security Council to be reformed to be more inclusive.
He also previously said the UN had failed the test in Gaza and called for an urgent reform, repeating that the Security Council’s five permanent members – the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France – did not represent the world.
Israeli air and ground attacks in Gaza have claimed more than 17,000 lives since October 7, in addition to causing massive destruction in the enclave and leading to the displacement of at least 1.8 million people.