Ankara/Davos, Switzerland  - Thousands of Turks gathered early Friday morning to welcome home Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who on Thursday night stormed out of the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos after a heated exchange with Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Waving banners reading "Welcome back conqueror of Davos" and "World, look at our prime minister," thousands of Turks waving Turkish and Palestinian flags gathered at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport and shouted anti-Israeli slogans as the prime minister arrived at about 2:30 am (0030 GMT).

On Thursday night at the forum in Davos, a visibly angry Erdogan had become agitated with the Israeli president during a debate on Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip - the Turkish leader accused Israel of "knowing very well how to kill babies."

"For me, Davos is over," he said, walking off stage in the final moments of the session. "They would not let me speak," he later told reporters.

The Secretary General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, shook Erdogan's hand as he walked off, passing Peres and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

At a press conference about an hour later with WEF founder Klaus Schwab, Erdogan said he was upset because of the moderation style of David Ignatius from the Washington Post newspaper.

The Turkish leader said Peres was given 25 minutes to speak, more than twice the amount of time given to himself and Moussa, who was cut off by the moderator after 12 minutes.

"He addressed me in a style which does not fit in with the free discussion style of Davos. He raised his voice at me," said Erdogan of Peres' manner during the session.

Schwab said the incident was "regrettable" and did not fit with with the "Davos spirit."

On arriving in Istanbul, Erdogan said that Peres had telephoned him to apologize for the way he had spoken.

The debate on the Middle East began with Ban calling for the peace process to be urgently "put on track," and asking for donations to help the Gaza Strip.

During the debate, Erdogan condemned Israel's "disproportionate use of force" in its three-week offensive in Gaza, and called for including Hamas, the Islamic movement ruling the enclave, in the political process.

He was followed by Moussa, who urged Israel to accept the Arab peace proposal first launched in 2002, while also attacking Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip.

Peres then gave a rather long speech, in which he defended the offensive, saying it was needed to protect Israelis from rocket attacks, and placed the blame for the bloodshed on Hamas.

"We never gave up. All my life, I am fighting for peace," said Peres, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in the 1990s to reach a deal with the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Erdogan responded, telling Peres that "you must feel guilty to be so strong in your words," referring to the president having raised his voice during his address.

"You killed people," Erdogan said, adding "the Sixth Commandment says thou shall not kill."

He also said he found it "very sad" that some members of the audience applauded Peres, as "there have been many people killed." He then accused Peres of "knowing very well how to kill babies."

When the moderator tried to cut Erdogan off, the premier went red in the face, tried to talk atop Ignatius and then walked out and vowed never to return to Davos.

At the press conference, Erdogan said he would discuss attending future conferences with Schwab, but implied it would depend on moderation styles.

Some 1,300 Palestinians were killed during the offensive, along with 13 Israelis. Turkey, a Muslim majority state and NATO member, and Israel have in recent years enjoyed good relations. But Erdogan has been a staunch critic of Israel's actions in Gaza. (dpa)