On Thursday (December 21), the Turkish Foreign Minister reaffirmed that Turkey is in favor of and committed to a two-state solution to the ceasefire in Gaza and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
"First of all, we are working to secure a ceasefire, provide humanitarian aid and prevent the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza," Hakan Fidan said in the Turkish parliament. ”
He stressed that lasting peace and security can only be established through a two-state solution, adding: "This issue cannot be resolved until the end of the Israeli occupation." A sovereign and independent Palestinian State must be established as soon as possible. ”
He stressed the importance of countries in the region facing up to the problem and said that the guarantee mechanism proposed by Turkey solves this problem because the conflict has deeply affected the entire region.
"We continue to participate in the international initiative with our colleagues in the Gaza Contact Group, which is the result of an extraordinary joint summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League," he said. ”
He noted that the Contact Group has enabled Islamic countries to take common positions and take diplomatic initiatives together. As a result of the efforts of the Contact Group, the international community was forced to take a stand.
On 12 December, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a draft resolution on an emergency humanitarian ceasefire by 153 votes.
"Compared to the vote on October 26, the 27 countries that previously abstained from voting have changed their attitude and supported Palestine, which shows that our diplomatic contacts are effective," he added. ”
On Wednesday, a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a suspension of hostilities in Gaza for assistance was postponed for the third day in a row. The 15 members of the Security Council are expected to vote on Thursday on the resolution that was postponed for the first time on Monday.
The text of the resolution, drafted by the United Arab Emirates, calls for an urgent cessation of hostilities and safe and unhindered access for humanitarian assistance, as well as for urgent measures to achieve a sustainable cessation of hostilities.
He reminded that more than 20,000 innocent civilians, 70 percent of them children and women, were killed in Gaza, and that it is alarming that some Western countries openly support Israel's ** and war crimes.
With regard to humanitarian efforts, the minister said that Turkey has so far provided 2,500 tons of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
We have also brought 283 cancer patients and wounded to our country. We continue to work on the establishment of field hospitals in Gaza," he added.
"Turkey has also evacuated a total of 1,149 people from Gaza and continues to evacuate our remaining citizens and their families in an effort to complete the evacuation safely as soon as possible," he said. ”
Fidan also said that Iran's Ibrahim Raisi will visit Turkey in the near future to attend the eighth meeting of the Turkish-Iranian High Cooperation Council.
Since the October 7 Hamas attack, Israel has carried out attacks on the Gaza Strip, killing nearly 20,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring more than 52,000 others, according to the enclave health authorities. In addition to shortages of food, water and medicine, widespread damage to homes and other infrastructure.
Israel says Hamas's October 7 invasion killed 1,200 people.