Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected Israel's assertion that its strikes on Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip were self-defense, saying the Jewish state is carrying out "ethnic cleansing" against Palestinians.

"No one can say Israel is using its right to self defense," Erdogan told lawmakers from his party in a speech at the Turkish parliament in Ankara today. "Israel is snubbing peace in the region, stomping on international law and carrying out ethnic cleansing against a people."

Erdogan called Israel a "terrorist state" and a "pirate state" that is "raging terrorism in the Middle East." He also accused the United Nations of being absent from conflicts in which Muslims were victims.

"Palestinian lands are being invaded step-by-step," he said. "Sooner or later, Israel will pay the price for all of the oppressed people it has martyred."

Fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza continued for a seventh day today, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed to the region to try and broker a truce. Israel postponed a decision on launching a ground invasion into Gaza as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he prefers a diplomatic solution, even as he ordered tanks to mass on the border east of Gaza and began calling up 75,000 reservists.

Air Strikes

Israel carried out about 100 air strikes overnight against sites in Gaza, the Israel army said in an e-mailed statement, including the Islamic National Bank in Gaza City, devastating the Hamas-owned lender that the group uses to pay the salaries of its 35,000 employees. The U.S., the European Union and Israel consider Hamas to be a terrorist organization.

Israeli military strikes on Gaza have killed 113 people. Three Israelis have died, while Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system has intercepted more than 300 rockets of the more than 1,200 fired into Israel since Nov. 14. Israel said it began the Gaza operation after an increase in rocket attacks from the Hamas-ruled territory and an escalation in assaults on its soldiers patrolling the Gaza border.

Ties between Turkey and Israel, once a close military ally, have been strained since an Israeli raid left nine Turks dead on a Gaza-bound aid ship in 2010. On Nov. 6, Islamist demonstrators cheered as a Turkish court began the trial in absentia of four Israeli officers accused of ordering the raid.

Erdogan's government has cultivated diplomatic relations with Hamas and the group's exiled leader, Khaled Mashaal, attended a convention for the Turkish ruling party last month in Ankara. Mashaal received a standing ovation after being introduced by Erdogan, as the audience chanted "Damn Israel."

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu traveled with a delegation of foreign ministers from the Arab League to visit the Gaza Strip today. (Bloomberg)