Turkiye's Erdogan blasts UN over Israeli attacks on peacekeepers

Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday hit out at the United Nations for failing to prevent Israel from firing at its peacekeepers i...

Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday hit out at the United Nations for failing to prevent Israel from firing at its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.

At least five UNIFIL peacekeepers have been wounded in recent days as fighting ranges between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

Erdogan said the UN was also to blame for failing to sanction Israel over its wars with Hezbollah and with Hamas in Gaza.

"The image of the UN which cannot protect its own personnel is shameful and worrying," Erdogan said in a televised address.

"Frankly, we ask ourselves what the (UN) Security Council is waiting for to stop Israel." "Can you believe it? The Israeli tanks penetrate into the UNIFIL zone, attack peacekeeping soldiers, even wounding some of them, but the UN Security Council decides to just watch all this criminality from its stands -- that's what we call powerlessness."