Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday called on the United Nations General Assembly to invoke the use of force, referencing a resolution passed in 1950, if the UN Security Council is unable to halt Israel's strikes in Gaza and Lebanon, Reuters reported.
"The UN General Assembly should rapidly implement the authority to recommend the use of force, as it did with the 1950 Uniting for Peace resolution, if the Security Council can't show the necessary will," Erdogan said following a cabinet meeting in Ankara.
The 1950 resolution allows the UN General Assembly to intervene if disagreements between the Security Council's five permanent members—Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States—prevent them from maintaining global peace.
While the Security Council is typically the only UN body with the authority to make legally binding decisions, such as authorizing force or enforcing sanctions, Erdogan expressed disappointment at the lack of action from Muslim nations. He urged them to adopt economic, diplomatic, and political measures to pressure Israel into agreeing to a ceasefire.
"For the peace of everyone in our region, from Muslim to Jew to Christian, we call on the international community and Muslim world to mobilize," Erdogan said, claiming that Israel's attacks could extend to other Muslim countries if it is not stopped.
After years of tensions, Israel and Turkey were headed towards reconciliation before Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, but Erdogan has resumed his frequent verbal attacks on Israel since that time.
In one speech, the Turkish President said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “committed one of the greatest atrocities of this century in Gaza and has already put his name down in history as the butcher of Gaza."
In July, Erdogan threatened to invade Israel, saying, "We must be strong so Israel won't be able to do these things to the Palestinians. Just as we entered Karabakh and Libya, we will do the same to Israel. There's nothing left to do, we must be strong."
He then continued to lash out at Israel, claiming that it "committed acts of barbarism" and that "Gaza has become the world's largest concentration camp."