Monday, December 11, 2017
Erdogan Calls Israel "Terrorist State That Kills Children", An Angry Netanyahu Responds
Relations between Israel and Turkey took a sharp turn for the worse on Sunday after their leaders exchanged accusations of involvement in terrorism, days after the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. First, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would fight against the controversial declaration, describing Israel as a "terrorist state" that kills children, in a speech in Istanbul.
"Palestine is an innocent victim… as for Israel, it is a terrorist state, yes, terrorist!” Erdogan said in a speech in the central Turkish city of Sivas. "We will not abandon Jerusalem to the mercy of a state that kills children."
The Turkish leader has previously threatened to cut off ties with Israel if Trump follows through with his promise to move the US embassy. He has helped organize an international meeting of officials from Muslim majority countries to discuss how they should respond. Furthermore, he also warned that moving the embassy would represent an obstacle from a logistical standpoint.
Hours after Erdogan's outburst, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit back, calling his counterpart a leader who bombs Kurdish villagers and supports terrorists, during an official visit to Paris. While the two countries had normalised relations in recent years, Sunday's flare-up came after Turkey was angered by US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Furthermore, as we reported on Friday and Saturday, Trump's move has sparked protests in Muslim and Arab countries for four days.
Erdogan earlier described the status of Jerusalem, whose eastern sector Palestinians see as the capital of their future state, as a "red line" for Muslims. Netanyahu was quick to counter the assault when he spoke later during a press conference alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.
"I am not used to receiving lectures about morality from a leader who bombs Kurdish villagers in his native Turkey, who jails journalists, who helps Iran go around international sanctions, and who helps terrorists, including in Gaza, kill innocent people," he said quoted by AFP. "That is not the man who is going to lecture us."
The tit for tat then continued, and the Israeli premier's comments were immediately denounced by Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin who said: "Instead of taking on our country and our leader, the Israeli authorities would do better to end their occupation of the Palestinian territories."
Erdogan has used his position as the current chairman of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to call a summit of the pan-Islamic group on Wednesday. "We will show that applying the measure will not be as easy as that," he added on Sunday, referring to the US recognition of Jerusalem. He said it was "absurd" to deny the Jews' "ancient connection" to Jerusalem.
During his speech, Erdogan held a picture of what he said was a 14-year-old Palestinian boy from Hebron, in the Occupied West Bank, being dragged away by Israeli soldiers. Turkey and Israel had improved diplomatic ties in recent years but Erdogan has continued to defend the Palestinian cause and has regularly criticised Israeli policy.
Credit to Zero HedgeHundreds of schools across Britain are closed a day AFTER first snowfall hits
It was the first serious snowfall of the winter, and predictably much of the country was paralysed yesterday.
But, even though gritters will have tackled what is left of the snow overnight, England's second city will still grind to a halt today – much to the chagrin of parents and workers.
Although little snow is expected today, all schools in Birmingham will be shut, bus services scrapped and bin collections abandoned.
Critics branded the closures 'ridiculous' and said authorities were 'too quick' to shut schools in bad weather. Some 200,000 children will have an extra day off after the decision by Birmingham City Council – Britain's largest local authority.
Heavy snow brought traffic to a halt near Rettendon, Essex, on Sunday after parts of Britain were covered in up to 13 inches of snow
A gritter overturned on an icy road and landed on its roof in Tamworth, Staffordshire, at around 8.20am on Sunday morning
Police attended but the driver was uninjured after the crash, at 8.20am. Jonathan Moore, who saw the vehicle overturned on the road, said: 'God knows how they managed to put it on its roof'
A fallen tree crushes a campervan on the A40 near Sennybridge, Wales, where the coldest temperature of the year was recorded on Sunday at -11C
Snow was falling in north London after Britain was hit by what forecasters described as a 'snow bomb' on Sunday morning
Heavy traffic on the M25 near junction 25, as snowfall across parts of the UK, caused widespread disruption and tailbacks on the motorway
Thousands of travellers were stranded at Euston Station in London on Sunday afternoon following delays and cancellations caused by weather conditions
Credit to Dailymail.co.uk
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5165769/A-bunch-snowflakes-Birmingham-shuts-schools.html#ixzz50v9I8cjE
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