ANKARA, November 15. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Israel is a terrorist state, while the Hamas movement is a legitimate political force in the Gaza Strip.

"Israel is engaged in state terrorism. I am saying it clearly that Israel is a terrorist state. You call Hamas a terrorist organization. However, Hamas is a political party that won elections," he said in an address to members of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party in parliament.

Erdogan added that Turkey would continue working to make sure that the world "recognizes Israel as a terrorist state."

"We are witnessing genocide [in the Gaza Strip]. Hundreds of lawyers are going to the Hague Court to take measures against it. They are doing everything that is necessary. We will do everything that is necessary. If Israel continues to act this way, it will prove that it is a terrorist state," the Turkish president pointed out.

Erdogan noted that Ankara planned to hold telephone consultations with the 41 countries that had abstained from voting on a UN General Assembly resolution on a Gaza ceasefire to make them "see the truth." "This is how we will continue to isolate Israel," he stressed.