There cannot be a temporary solution to the Gaza crisis without the establishment of a Palestinian state, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a keynote at the World Government Summit in Dubai on Tuesday, adding that the humanitarian situation in the Strip is deteriorating.
The Gaza crisis is the latest example of what happens “if we fail to amicably settle disputes once and for all,” Erdogan said.
“Every outstanding incident that is not settled amicably, became even crazier in time, became more intertwined and it became a gridlock. And it is resurrected over and over and over again. Any thing that we actually sweep under the rugs remain unsettled,” he added, referring to the Israeli war in Gaza.
War between the two long-time foes broke out after the Iran-backed Hamas militant group attacked Israel on October 7. But Erdogan said, the source of the crisis is “independent from the incident itself.”
The Turkish leader said that the crisis stems from the increasing settlements on the Palestinian lands.
“Despite the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, Israel deems itself above the international law. And for many decades now, occupation, illegal settlements and massacre policies have been sustained,” he said.
Erdogan added that permanent peace can be achieved if Israel stops invading the territories and recognizes a “free and an independent Palestinian state” within the 1967 borders.
“We will never abandon our Palestinian brothers and sisters. We will never leave them alone and without hope,” the Turkish leader said, thanking South Africa for filing a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
He also called on “all countries with a conscience” to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which is currently in the middle of a scandal after Israel accused its employees of being involved in the Hamas attack. This led to many countries including the US and UK to suspend funding.
Erdogan said the agency is the “lifeblood of more than six million immigrants living in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and in the occupied lands of Palestine.”
Erdogan spoke in Turkish during his keynote, and his comments were translated to English live at the summit.–agencies
