Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that the United States and European countries were not doing enough to pressure Israel to agree a ceasefire in Gaza, after Hamas' move to accept a truce proposal, Reuters reported.
Speaking to Muslim scholars in Istanbul, Erdogan said Hamas had accepted a ceasefire proposal by Qatar and Egypt in a "step in the path toward a lasting ceasefire", but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government did not want the war to end.
"The response of the Netanyahu government was to attack the innocent people in Rafah," he charged. "It has become clear who sides with peace and dialogue, and who wants clashes continuing and more bloodshed.
"And did Netanyahu see any serious reaction for his spoiled behavior? No. Neither Europe nor America showed a reaction that would force Israel into a ceasefire," added Erdogan.
While Hamas said last week that it has decided to agree to a ceasefire proposal, the proposal it had agreed to was not what Israel had proposed.
On Friday, CNN reported that Hamas demanded that Israel agree to a 12-week ceasefire instead of a six-week ceasefire during the hostage negotiations.
Three sources familiar with the discussions said that Hamas forwarded the demand in question to mediators in its latest counter proposal. According to the sources, Israel strongly opposes the extension of the ceasefire.
The Saudi Asharq channel reported that the Israeli delegation in Cairo demanded that Hamas release 33 living hostages alive in the first stage, as opposed to Hamas' proposal that the hostages would be "alive or dead."
Israel and Turkey formally announced in August of 2022 that they would normalize relations by returning the ambassadors and consuls, after years of tensions.
However, since the start of the war against Hamas in Gaza, Erdogan has resumed his frequent verbal attacks on Israel.
In one speech, the Turkish President said that 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."
The Turkish Trade Ministry recently said it had suspended all export and import operations with Israel due to what it described as its "aggression against Palestine in violation of international law and human rights."
The move came several weeks after Turkey restricted exports to Israel of 54 product categories.
Erdogan later said that Turkey's move to halt trade with Israel was designed to force the country to a ceasefire in Gaza.