Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attacked Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a harsh speech Wednesday before members of his party.
In his speech he said: "Netanyahu committed one of the greatest atrocities of this century in Gaza and has already put his name down in history as the butcher of Gaza."
"My brothers from Gaza have been subjected to the worst attacks in human history, when about 16,000 of our brothers and sisters, more than 7 percent of them women and children, were murdered," Erdogan added.
Regarding the release of the hostages, Erdogan said: "We see the exchange of prisoners as a positive development in the sense of stopping the bloodshed – the statements made by Netanyahu’s government lower our hopes that this will turn into a permanent ceasefire."
"Netanyahu, who has been pushed into a corner, must be prevented from spilling more blood – Netanyahu is endangering the safety of all Jews, by igniting antisemitism with his murders in Gaza."
Regarding the climate conference that will be held Thursday in the United Arab Emirates, he said: "We will go to the United Arab Emirates tomorrow and see what can be done for Gaza."
"The humanitarian aid to our Gazan brothers continues. To date we have sent 12 planeloads and a ship full of aid. Our second ship carrying 1,500 tons of aid is leaving today. We will accelerate contacts to release the hostages and reach a permanent ceasefire.”
Later in his speech, Erdogan said: "The independent state of Palestine should be established on the basis of the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital."