Erdogan hailed as 'new world leader' after Davos walkout[fr][de] 

According to BBC reports, crowds shouted "Turkey is with you," and some people held up signs greeting Erdogan as "a new world leader". 

Erdogan walked out of a televised debate on Thursday with Shimon Peres, the Israeli president, after the moderator refused to allow him to rebut Peres' justification of the war. 

Following a lengthy monologue by Peres, moderator David Ignatius, a Washington Post columnist, told Erdogan that he had "only a minute" to respond. 

Erdogan then said: "Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I don't think I will come back to Davos after this." 

But before storming out, Erdogan told President Peres: "You are killing people." 

Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League and a former Egyptian foreign minister, said Erdogan's action was understandable. "Mr Erdogan said what he wanted to say and then he left. That's all. He was right," he said, adding that Israel "doesn't listen". 

A BBC correspondent in Istanbul said there had been huge anger in Turkey at Israel's operation in Gaza and there now appears to be widespread support for Erdogan's Davos walkout. 

The Israeli press quoted Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as saying he had never seen Shimon Peres as passionate as he was during the debate. 

"I think he felt Israel was being attacked by so many in the international community. He felt isolated […] I was very sad that Erdogan left," the Norwegian minister further stated, adding: "This was an expression of how difficult the situation is."