Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan emphasized that Gaza should be a part of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state following the Israel-Hamas conflict, and Ankara will not support any plans aimed at gradually erasing Palestinians from history. Erdogan’s comments came one day ahead of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s scheduled visit to Ankara for discussions on Gaza.
Turkey, as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza intensifies, has heightened its criticism of Israel and supports a two-state solution. Additionally, Turkey hosts members of Hamas, which it does not classify as a terrorist organization, in contrast to the United States, Britain, and other Western nations.
Turkey has urged an immediate ceasefire and proposed the establishment of a mechanism to ensure it.
“Once all of this that is happening is finished, we want to see Gaza as a peaceful region that is a part of an independent Palestinian state, in line with 1967 borders, with territorial integrity, and with East Jerusalem as its capital,” on Saturday, Erdogan was quoted as saying by broadcaster Haberturk and other sources.
“We will support formulas that will bring peace and calm to the region. We will not be supportive of plans that will further darken the lives of Palestinians, that will gradually erase them from the scene of history.”
Erdogan mentioned that his intelligence chief maintained contact with Israeli and Palestinian authorities, as well as Hamas, but he would no longer consider Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a counterpart. However, he emphasized that Turkey did not intend to sever ties with Israel.
On the day before Blinken’s visit, hundreds of protesters assembled in Ankara and Istanbul to express their opposition to the United States and Israel. The secretary of state is scheduled to meet with Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan on Monday.
Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel, Sakir Ozkan Torunlar, for consultations on Saturday, following Israel’s previous recall of its envoys to Turkey. Israel had recalled its diplomats due to security concerns during pro-Palestinian protests in Turkey, which were triggered by Erdogan’s characterization of Hamas as freedom fighters.
In response to Israel’s foreign ministry, Turkey’s move to recall its ambassador was seen as “another step to side with the terrorist organization Hamas.”
Regarding Turkey’s efforts to repair relations with Israel prior to the Israel-Hamas war, it was indeed working on improving ties after years of acrimony.
Erdogan also mentioned that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is scheduled to visit Turkey at the end of November and that he would attend an Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Riyadh this month to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza.
Erdogan expressed Turkey’s commitment to backing efforts aimed at holding Israel accountable for alleged war crimes and human rights violations, emphasizing that a failure to do so would undermine trust in the global system.
