Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan addresses the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York City, US, Sept. 19, 2023. PHoto: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

i24 News – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday inveighed against what he termed the Israeli army’s “massacre” of Palestinians in Gaza. The leader spoke at a massive pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul that he said had drawn a crowd of 1.5 million.

🇹🇷 Erdogan enters the stage to absolutely MASSIVE Istanbul rally in support of 🇵🇸 Gaza pic.twitter.com/BvHURIQPPg

— COMBATE |🇵🇷 (@upholdreality) October 28, 2023

Erdogan added that Israel was “behaving like a war criminal.”

The Islamist leader has been a leading international supporter of Palestinian terrorism during his two-decade rule.

Thousands rally in Istanbul in support of #Palestine.#Gaza #IsraeliNewNazism #Istanbul pic.twitter.com/6cQMXhFsA0

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 28, 2023

He took a more cautious line in the first days after Hamas jihadists staged a surprise attack on October 7 during which they seized more than 220 hostages and butchered over 1,400 Israelis. But he has become much more vocal as the reported death toll from Israel’s military response has grown.

Israel’s response came in a matter of hours.

“Given the grave statements coming from Turkey, I have ordered the return of diplomatic representatives there in order to conduct a reevaluation of the relations between Israel and Turkey,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

🇹🇷🇵🇸🚨‼️ Hugemoungous demonstration in support of Palestine in Istanbul!

Reminder, yesterday Erdogan called upon all citizens of Turkey to come out! pic.twitter.com/JnNdsrOTFX

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) October 28, 2023