ISTANBUL, Dec 9, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 
Saturday denounced the UN Security Council after the United States vetoed a 
ceasefire resolution for Gaza, describing the international body as the 
'Israel protection council'.

"Since October 7, the security council has become an Israel protection and 
defence council," Erdogan said.

The United States on Friday vetoed a Security Council resolution calling for 
an immediate ceasefire in the intense fighting between Israel and Hamas in 
Gaza.

Washington thus dashed a growing clamour for a halt to fighting that had been 
led by UN chief Antonio Guterres and Arab nations.

"Is this justice?" asked Erdogan, adding that "the world is bigger than 
five," a reference to the five veto-wielding nations in the UN Security 
Council.

"Another world is possible, but without America," the Turkish leader said.

"The United States stands by Israel with its money and military equipment. 
Hey, America! How much are you going to pay for that?" he added.

"Every day the Declaration of Human Rights is violated in Gaza", he said, as 
the world this weekend celebrates the 75th anniversary of the declaration.

The UN resolution for a ceasefire was submitted more than two months after 
the start of the war in Gaza triggered by Hamas's bloody attack on Israeli 
soil on October 7, which, according to the Israeli authorities, killed 1,200 
people.

Since then Hamas has put the death toll in Gaza at 17,490, mostly women and 
children.