The First Lady of Türkiye Emine Erdogan has reiterated the appeal for ceasefire in Gaza while speaking on the topic of United for Peace in Palestine, at Doha Forum 2024 Saturday.

She said that the conflict in Gaza has been ongoing for over 14 months.

“We are witnessing one of the most merciless attacks in the history of humanity, which has been committed against the common conscience of humanity and the dignity of humanity for 14 months,” she pointed out. “A country and its culture are targeted to be erased from history. I want to raise it on behalf of everyone who has a conscience.”

“For the sake of the innocent people who we can still save today, let us now call for a ceasefire,” Erdogan said. “Let me reiterate the call for a ceasefire.”
She raised questions about the ongoing brutalities in Gaza.

“The war has killed more than 44,000 civilians brutally, bombed hospitals, schools, shrines, even orphanages,” Erdogan said. “A good percentage of the dead were aged 18 years old or less. These events in Palestine are neither legitimate nor a manifestation of self-defence.”

She said that what Israel is doing in Palestine is a “post-modern holocaust”.

“For almost a century, the Palestinian people have been subjected to systematic theft, inhuman discrimination, and an endless occupation,” the Turkish first lady said. “For past year, this occupation has become one of the darkest massacres in history.”

She stressed that what is being witnessed in Palestine is not a war.

“This is an attempt to make the world accept a world order in which only the strongest can survive and the other lives do not matter,” Erdogan said. “It is an attempt to destroy a system in which all sacred things can be polluted, all common values can be neutralised, and everyone and everything left behind can be made worthless.”

She exhorted world leaders to come up against the scenario and respond accordingly.

“This is a civilised world that sees itself as a defender of human values in the face of this obvious reality,” Erdogan said.

“Hope is not just a feeling, it is a choice to hope,” she emphasised. “It is to get up every morning and again, despite everything, to choose to believe in a bright future with great spirit and courage.”