ISTANBUL: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday accused Israeli officials of having ordered the air strikes on the Gaza Strip as an electoral move ahead of January’s general election. “Once again this time, they’re on the eve of an election,” Erdogan told reporters, recalling Israel’s “Cast Lead” Gaza offensive which began just six weeks before the 2009 election.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is running for re-election in the early general election set for January of next year.
“Ahead of this (new) vote, the current leadership once again chose the route of striking these innocent people of Gaza for made-up reasons,” Erdogan said, quoted by the ANatolia news agency.
Erdogan said he would discuss the attacks with US President Barack Obama and added that he had also requested an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.AFP
