Istanbul – The office of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the president discussed efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and reach a just and lasting peace in the region during a meeting in Istanbul on Saturday with Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of the Palestinian resistance movement.
The meeting is the first between Erdogan and a delegation from the movement headed by Haniyeh since Israel began its military attack in the Gaza Strip. Haniyeh’s visit to Türkiye comes three days after his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Doha.
The Turkish presidency said in a statement, “Issues were discussed related to Israel’s attacks on the territories of Palestine, specifically Gaza, and efforts to deliver sufficient humanitarian aid to Gaza without interruption, and a just and lasting peace process in the region.”
The visit came amid escalating tension in the region following reports of Israel launching an attack on Iran last week.
The statement said, “Erdogan stressed that Israel should not benefit from developments (between it and Iran) and that it is important to make efforts to draw attention to Gaza again.”
Turkey, a member of NATO, condemns the ongoing Israeli attack in Gaza that followed the faction movement’s October 7 attack on Israel, and Ankara also calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Erdogan describes the factional movement as a “liberation movement” and criticizes the West for what he describes as unconditional support for Israel. Ankara also imposed trade restrictions on Israel.
The presidential statement said that Erdogan informed Haniyeh during a meeting on Saturday that Turkey was continuing its diplomatic efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire in addition to establishing an independent Palestinian state.
The statement stated that Erdogan told Haniyeh, “It is necessary for the Palestinians to work in unity.”
A year after a landslide election victory, the faction movement took control of Gaza in 2007 following a short civil war with Palestinian Authority security forces, reducing PA rule to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Reconciliation efforts between the two sides have failed so far due to thorny issues related to power sharing.
Anatolia
#Erdogan #meets #Haniyeh #Türkiye #discuss #peace #efforts #region
2024-04-22 07:10:57