Turkey and South Africa Recall Their Ambassadors from Tel Aviv

As Palestinians in Gaza bury their dead on Tuesday, May 15, Turkey and South Africa recalled their ambassadors from Tel Aviv in protest against Israel's actions during the events on Monday at the Gaza-Israel border. Reports indicate that Turkey has also recalled its ambassador to the United States in dissatisfaction with U.S. support for Israel. On Monday, May 14, during protests involving over forty thousand Palestinians along the Gaza-Israel borders, dozens of Palestinians were killed. The protests on Monday continued the recent month-and-a-half-long demonstrations titled 'Return,' coinciding with the seventieth anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel. However, Monday also coincided with the day of the U.S. embassy's relocation to Jerusalem, based on a decision by U.S. President Donald Trump. The global media's coverage of this action was overshadowed by the violence in Gaza, as the number of casualties and injuries continued to rise, leading to multiple international reactions. The total number of Palestinian casualties, including those who died from injuries later, reached 60, while the number of injured exceeded 2,100. This number of dead and injured came on the heels of an earlier month-and-a-half period in which 54 Palestinians were killed and over 8,500 others were injured in Gaza. The death of Leila Ghandour, an eight-month-old Palestinian baby who died early Tuesday from severe injuries in a hospital in Gaza after being brought to the protest area in her mother's arms, has become a new motivation for the continuation of Palestinian protests. Palestinians claim that the baby died from inhaling tear gas. Hamas had stated from the beginning of the 'Return' protests that Tuesday, May 15, would be the peak of demonstrations on the anniversary known as 'Nakba Day' (Day of Catastrophe); Palestinians consider the day Israel was declared in 1948 as their 'Day of Catastrophe.' While Israel described its military's actions during the events on Monday at the Gaza border as 'legitimate defense' of its country and people, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan severely criticized Israel and the U.S., recalling his ambassadors from both Tel Aviv and Washington. According to reports, Erdoğan held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump responsible for the massacre on Monday. Additionally, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım called on all Muslim countries on Tuesday to reconsider their relations with Israel in light of the events in Gaza. Various cities in Turkey witnessed widespread protests condemning Israel on Monday evening. On the other hand, the Israeli government stated that the recall of the ambassadors from Turkey and South Africa does not mean a renewed severing of relations with Israel. An Israeli government official told the Ynet website that the governments of Turkey and South Africa have lowered themselves to the level of membership in the terrorist organization Hamas by supporting its violent actions. Meanwhile, Israeli media have reported that several other countries may recall their ambassadors from Israel. The recall of the Israeli ambassador in Dublin, Ireland, French President Emmanuel Macron's criticism of the 'high number of civilian casualties in Gaza,' and the deep concern expressed by the Kremlin spokesperson regarding the escalation of tensions between Israel and Palestinians are among other related developments in the last two days. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also called Monday 'a shameful day.' However, the White House emphasized in a statement on Monday that Hamas was responsible for the violence; the White House spokesperson stated that Israel was defending itself and there was no need to ask Israel to exercise restraint. The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the events in Gaza; U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley described Hamas as the instigator of the violence and prevented the issuance of a resolution condemning Israel or conducting an independent investigation into the events, which was a demand of the Palestinians supported by their allied countries. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian representative at the United Nations, criticized the U.S. actions at the Security Council meeting; the council is set to hold another meeting on Tuesday regarding the situation in Gaza and its violence. Concurrently with the Security Council meeting, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his shock at the high number of Palestinian casualties and injuries. Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, stated on Monday night that the U.S. embassy is 'a new settlement' opened on the blood of Palestinians. Mr. Abbas declared three days of public mourning for the dead in Gaza. Saeb Erekat, a senior official of the Palestine Liberation Organization, stated that Palestinians will take Israel's 'new crime' to the International Criminal Court; New Zealand announced it would support this Palestinian request. Meanwhile, Egypt opened the Rafah crossing, which is shared with Gaza, on Tuesday after a long time to accept some of the injured from the events into its hospitals. On the other hand, the Israeli government held an extraordinary meeting on Monday evening to review the situation in Gaza and the outlook for the coming days in the region, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating that every country has a duty to defend its borders. Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's Minister of Defense, tweeted on Tuesday that while our people gather to hear music (referring to a Tel Aviv ceremony welcoming Israeli singer Netta, who won the Eurovision contest), in Gaza, their people gather for terrorist purposes. Colonel Ronen Manlis and Colonel Avichai Adraee, spokespersons for the Israeli army, claimed in Hebrew and Arabic that Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, was the planner and financier of the recent Palestinian protests, alleging that Iran, after Hamas's renewed closeness to Iran, has led Palestinians into a new round of violence against Israel; this claim has yet to elicit a response from Hamas and Iran. Meanwhile, according to Israeli media, Gilad Erdan, Israel's Minister of Public Security, called on Tuesday for the killing of Hamas leaders, stating, 'We must resume targeted pursuit of Hamas leaders.' This minister stated, 'The high number of Palestinian casualties does not mean that Hamas is justified, just as if the Nazis had many casualties, it would not be acceptable to say they were in the right.' In the meantime, Honduras announced that it will open its embassy in Jerusalem on Wednesday. Jimmy Morales, the President of Honduras, arrived in Israel on Tuesday to participate in the inauguration ceremony of his country's embassy in Jerusalem. Honduras is the second country after the U.S. to effectively move its embassy to Jerusalem. According to Tel Aviv Central Radio, the government of Paraguay will also move its embassy to Jerusalem next week. Benjamin Netanyahu also called on Guatemala, which recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, to expedite its embassy transfer to the city; he urged several European countries that have expressed readiness for similar actions to transfer their embassies to Jerusalem. In this context, the Security Council is set to meet to review the deadly events in Gaza. Hassan Nasrallah described the rocket attacks on Israeli positions as the beginning of 'a new phase.' International reactions to the violence in the Gaza Strip following the U.S. embassy relocation have changed the game for 'proxies'; the war against the people in the streets of Iran continues amid the Iranian crisis; responsibility lies with the opposition and the potential radicalization of Iranian society.