Turkish PM Erdogan says Israel should be barred from U.N.

"How is such a country, which totally ignores and does not implement resolutions of the U.N. Security Council, allowed to enter through the gates of the U.N. (headquarters)?" Erdogan said at a meeting in the Turkish capital of Ankara.�

He spoke before U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was due to arrive in Ankara to discuss the conflict.�

Ban is on a weeklong trip to the region meant to promote a truce after both sides ignored a U.N. resolution demanding an immediate and durable ceasefire.

"The U.N. building in Gaza was hit while the U.N. secretary-general was in Israel," Erdogan said.

"This is an open challenge to the world, teasing the world,” he added.

Israeli forces shelled Thursday a U.N. compound in Gaza that had been sheltering hundreds of refugees from the fighting, sending thousands of tons of food aid up in flames. The destruction added to what aid groups say is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and increased tensions between Israel and the international community, even as diplomats engaged in ceasefire talks.

Some 1,100 Palestinians have been killed since the war began on Dec. 27, including 346 children, according to the U.N. and Gaza health officials. Thirteen Israelis have been killed, four by rocket fire, according to the military.

Erdogan said the Islamic militant group Hamas does not have specifically military installations or headquarters in Gaza, as alleged by Israel, and that civilians were becoming victims of attacks on hospitals and mosques.

 "I want to call on the entire world; don’t turn a blind eye to this savagery, don’t be a spectator to this massacre because those who remain silent will become a party to this shame," Erdogan said. "Who can justify bombing young people, elderly, women and even children?"

Turkey, Israel’s main regional ally, is one of the countries that have condemned the Jewish state for its offensive on Gaza.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor rebuffed Erdogan's harsh criticism.

"Maybe if Turkey had voted more with Israel at the U.N. and expressed its anger when Hamas was firing rockets indiscriminately on Israeli civilians, it could have contributed more to bringing peace to southern Israel and Gaza" than by making such statements, Palmor was quoted by AP as saying.

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul on Friday renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire and also urged U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to focus on a comprehensive, long-lasting and fair solution once in office.