“Blood On Your Hands”: Erdogan Issues Worst Rebuke To Biden Since Taking Office

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday blasted the Joe Biden administration for standing idly by while the civilian body count piles up in Gaza after one week of unrelenting Israeli airstrikes. And even more than this Turkey is outraged over new reports that Biden approved a $735 million dollar weapons sale from the United States to Israel.

“You are writing history with your bloody hands,” Erdogan said in remarks addressed to President Biden. The stinging rebuke came after a meeting with this cabinet over the continuing Gaza crisis. Turkey has long been a staunch supporter of Palestinian rights, though Erdogan’s rule has in recent years seen relations with Israel reach a low-point given the hardline Islamist leanings of his Justice and Development Party. The Hill reports of the massive US weapons sale to Israel that “A majority of the possible sale is of Boeing-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions, equipment that can make unguided bombs dropped from aircraft into guided missiles, the aide confirmed.” 

“The window for Congress to block this sale is for all intents and purposes closed,” The Hill wrote, also noting outrage among a handful of Democrat progressives.

Following a meeting with his Cabinet, Erdogan issued a rebuke to the U.S. president, saying:

“Now, unfortunately, you (Biden) are writing history with your bloody hands with this event (in which) Gaza is being attacked with seriously disproportionate force causing the martyrdom of thousands of people. You have forced us to say this.”

And specifically on the new reports of Biden-approved weapons sales to the Jewish state, Erdogan scolded further:

“Today we saw Biden’s signature on weapons sales to Israel,” Erdogan said in reference to US media reports of a new arms shipment approved by the Biden administration.

“Palestinian territories are awash with persecution, suffering and blood, like many other territories that lost the peace with the end of the Ottomans. And you are supporting that,” Erdogan said.

This apparently marks the end of previously reported attempts of Erdogan to reach out to the administration, following warmer (despite at times tense) personal relations with Trump, given that Monday’s comments mark the harshest words Erdogan has unleashed on Biden since his January arrival in the White House. 

After all this, Erdogan apparently offered his vision for peace in the region…

BREAKING — Erdogan says Jerusalem should be governed by a commission that has representatives from three religions, Islam, Christianity and Judaism to reach security and peace in the city. pic.twitter.com/E8slyxUCCq

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) May 17, 2021

But Turkey’s leader also went after some European countries, especially Austria – over reports of the Austrians flying an Israeli flag from a government building. He said Austria is trying to make Muslims “pay the price of their own genocide against the Jews” – a reference to the large number of Austrian Nazis that during WWII helped facilitate the Holocaust there.