Ankara - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday questioned why Israel is allowed to continue to be a member of the United Nations whilst it ignores UN resolutions to stop fighting in Gaza, the Anadolu news agency reported.

"How can a member which refuses to implement UN Security Council resolutions be allowed to enter through the gates of the UN," Erdogan said.

Friday's statement was the latest in a series of harsh reactions from Erdogan over Israel's continued military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Ankara - A prosecutor in Ankara on Friday opened an investigation into whether an online campaign by a number of Turkish intellectuals in which they personally apologize for the First World War killings of Armenian constitutes "insulting the Turkish people," the Anadolu news agency reported.

The investigation will look into the "We apologize" campaign and whether it violates Turkey's notorious Article 301, which stipulates imprisonment for those found guilty of "insulting Turkishness".

Ankara- Police in Ankara on Friday seized a small arsenal of weapons buried in the grounds of a former anti-terrorism unit chief who was arrested on Wednesday and suspected of involvement in a possible coup plot, Turkish media reported

Using metal detectors and wearing forensic white uniforms, police scoured the grounds just outside the home of former Special Operations Unit head Ibrahim Sahin, discovering hand grenades, plastic explosives, heavy weapons and various types of ammunition.

Ankara - Around 40 people were taken into custody Wednesday in the latest wave of arrests connected to a shadowy nationalist gang that prosecutors claim was conspiring to overthrow Turkey's moderate Islamic government, Turkish media reported.

Those taken into custody on Wednesday included retired generals, former police officers, academics and journalists who are suspected of being connected to the so-called Ergenekon gang which allegedly had links to various murders in the past.

Ankara  - Some 1,500 police were called to Ankara's Ataturk Arena late Tuesday after fans and demonstrators forced a European Cup basketball match between a local and an Israeli team to be called off.

An Israeli flag was burned outside the stadium, while inside supporters of the Turk Telekom team chanted anti-Israeli slogans and shook their fists at opponents from the Israeli Bnei Hasharon club.

Ankara - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday repeated calls for Israel to put an immediate halt to its attacks in the Gaza Strip and also made a veiled criticism of the United States, describing the "multiple standard" of those who have failed to condemn the attacks.

In a hard hitting speech to parliamentary colleagues, Erdogan repeated Turkey's condemnation of Israel's military actions describing the operations as an "humanitarian disgrace" and a "stain on history's page."