Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of being a "terror state" and of “creating a wave of terror” in a CNN interview recorded on Wednesday.
Erdogan also denied that the governments of Turkey or Qatar were funding Hamas’ terrorist activities, saying that his country was providing humanitarian aid only to the people of Gaza.
Turkey and Qatar have been widely criticized in the media and by Israeli politicians for supposedly undermining the Egyptian proposal for a Gaza cease-fire in order to promote a mediation effort of their own.
Responding to a statement that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had criticized "Qatar's funding of terrorism," Erdogan said: "Israel is a terror state; they are creating a wave of terror with what they’re doing now."
Qatar, Erdogan added was "standing by the persecuted and the victims by offering humanitarian aid. Qatar’s cooperation with Turkey has always been to be on the side of the persecuted and to support them through humanitarian aid. This is what’s being done."
The full interview with CNN's Becky Anderson will be aired on Thursday afternoon.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.606889