ISTANBUL – Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan on Friday called on the Muslim world toback Palestinians against what he said was Israel’s cruelty in Gaza, andcastigated both the United States and the United Nations over the deaths ofdozens of protesters.

The Turkish president has been a vocal critic of Washington’s decision tomove its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem — and of the violence that followedthe embassy’s opening. Turkey declared three days of mourning after Israelisecurity forces killed dozens of Palestinian protesters on Monday.

Addressing thousands of supporters waving Turkish and Palestinian flags inIstanbul’s Yenikapi neighborhood, Erdogan called for Muslim solidarity andsaid the United Nations had lost legitimacy for failing to stand up againstWashington.

“If the Muslim world stands against cruelty in Gaza together, Israel’srecklessness will not last,” he said.

“The United Nations, which has failed to take effective steps against theUnited States, has taken another blow to its already worn-out legitimacy.”

Erdogan has called an emergency summit of the 57-member Organization ofIslamic Cooperation (OIC). That meeting is due to start later on Friday inIstanbul.

A populist with roots in political Islam, Erdogan has recently describedthe actions of the Israeli forces as a “genocide” and called Israel a“terrorist state”.