Turkey Declares 3 Days of Mourning for Gaza

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Monday that Turkey will observe three days of mourning. The mourning period is intended as a show of support for Gaza's resistance against Israel. The three day period begins Tuesday, July 22.

Arınç, who is also the government spokesman, said Ankara "curses the massacre" and ruthless mass punishment by Israel against the Palestinian Arab people.

Turkey is one of the most outspoken critics of Israel over the war in Gaza.  Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel of "barbarism surpassing Hitler."

Erdogan also pledged that Turkey would remain hostile to Israel so long as he was in office.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought in the last days to portray himself as the leading global defender of the Palestinian cause, slamming Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip as a "genocide" of the Palestinians, according to the Daily Star.