Erdoğan urges UN to recommend use of force for Gaza

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on Monday for the United Nations General Assembly to urgently consider using force in Gaza, invoking the 1950 Uniting for Peace resolution.

"Standing up for Palestine and Lebanon today means standing up for humanity, peace, and coexistence among different beliefs," Erdoğan said after a Cabinet meeting in capital Ankara.

He criticized what he termed "a handful of radical Zionists, blinded by blood and hatred," for exacerbating regional and global tensions, vowing, "We will never consent to this cruelty and barbarism" against Israel's ongoing attacks on Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon.

"The international community can no longer remain silent on Israel's thuggery that is setting the entire region on fire. If the Security Council fails to show the necessary will, the General Assembly's authority to recommend the use of force, as in the 1950 Unity for Peace Resolution, should be swiftly invoked," Erdoğan said.

Established in November 1950, the Uniting for Peace resolution allows the General Assembly to recommend collective measures, potentially including the use of armed force, when the Security Council fails to act in times of international crisis due to disagreement among its permanent members.

Erdoğan has persistently criticized the U.N. Security Council's inaction as Israel's military actions have resulted in thousands of Palestinian casualties and recent airstrikes in Lebanon. During his recent address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Erdoğan urged the global community against Israeli aggressions and called for a reform within the U.N.

Erdoğan reiterated his stance that global peace should not be subject to the decisions of the five permanent Security Council members, using...