ANKARA, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday urged Western countries to respond to the Israeli government's killings of Palestinians.
"We've seen Western countries responding unanimously to Iran's retaliation. These same actors now need to unite in telling Israel 'enough'," Erdogan said at a joint press conference with visiting Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Erdogan said they discussed the steps that can be taken against the "brutality in the occupied Palestinian territories."
Israel's attempts to "distort the agenda, hide the brutality in Gaza, and remove it from the agenda" should not be given an opportunity, he said.
An immediate and lasting ceasefire must be achieved as soon as possible in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and then steps must be taken to realize a two-state solution, the Turkish president said.
Hassan said she exchanged views with Erdogan on important regional and global issues.
"Tanzania supports Türkiye's efforts to find peaceful solutions to international disputes. We also support the call for an urgent ceasefire for situations that are detrimental to Gazans," she said.
Hassan said that her country also supports the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones on Saturday toward Israeli military targets to retaliate against a deadly Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria's capital, on April 1. Israel said it had intercepted the majority of the Iranian missiles and drones, whereas Iran said it had "successfully hit and destroyed" important Israeli military targets. ■
