Physical Address
Indirizzo: Via Mario Greco 60, Buttigliera Alta, 10090, Torino, Italy
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), the Yeni Yol Party, the Felicity-affiliated Yeniden Refah Party, the Turkish Workers’ Party (TIP), the Labor Party (EMEP) and the Democrat Party (DP) jointly submitted a petition for a parliamentary session on Gaza.
In a statement, the Parliament Presidency said Kurtulmuş convened the General Assembly “to inform lawmakers on Israel’s Gaza assault, the genocide and oppression against the Palestinian people, famine policies and the current situation in the region.” Parliament is in summer recess until October, with only one committee regularly convening.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will brief Parliament during the extraordinary meeting, the statement added.
Since March 2, Israel has imposed a total blockade on aid entering Gaza, leading to a famine and humanitarian crisis.
The Turkish public and government are major supporters of the Palestinian cause. Türkiye has been a traditional ally to Palestine, but as the Israeli attacks became more brutal, Ankara has become harsher in its criticism in the past year. It has condemned what it calls genocide, halted all trade with Israel and applied to join a genocide case against Israel at the World Court, which Israel rejects.
In addition to delivering humanitarian aid, Türkiye has sought to rally international organizations, including the United Nations, NATO and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to restrain Israel.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday warned that Israel will be held accountable for its crimes in Gaza, declaring that “those who spill innocent blood will drown in it,” during a graduation ceremony at the Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Academy in Ankara. Erdoğan condemned Israel’s ongoing massacres, saying the world is witnessing “innocent children, their stomachs shrunken from hunger, wasting away before cameras while so-called civilized nations remain silent.” “The Zionist murder network continues its massacres so shamelessly. But we know from our history that tyrants who see themselves in the mirror of power will inevitably fall. God delays their punishment but never leaves it uncollected,” Erdoğan said. “The account for every bullet and bomb targeting our Palestinian brothers will eventually be settled.”
Fidan last Monday claimed that the Netanyahu administration of Israel was not seeking a peace deal but intends to gain time to further its “military agenda.” Speaking to the press after the 21st Extraordinary meeting of the OIC Foreign Ministers’ Council in Jeddah, Fidan stated that Türkiye had called the meeting due to the extreme famine in Gaza, and that a record number of participants attended. “As we approach the General Assembly week, it was important for us that Islamic countries take a position on the Palestinian issue with one voice, one idea, explaining the details of their ideas, form a single view, and present new proposals to the international community as the bearers of this cause,” Fidan said. He added that a significant decision – the influence of which will be huge – was made by all countries during the closed session of the meeting.
“We are at a point where words fail,” Fidan said, “We are at a point where humanity has failed its duty in the Palestine and Gaza issue. All foreign ministers are aware that we have reached the end of our ability to use diplomatic tools. From now on, other actions, measures need to be taken while the international community must show a different reaction.” He said that the system failed for Gaza. “The shortest way to end the pain in Gaza is to solve the ongoing negotiations.” Fidan underlined that, although he has a positive attitude, he sees that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not appear to be aiming for an agreement. Noting that the vast majority of the Islamic world has no relations with Israel, he highlighted that such an equation, while having immense significance for Islamic societies, falls short of creating a practical impact. “Therefore, it is actually the countries that support Israel more – commercially, politically and militarily – that need to take a stance against it. In practice, that would serve as a stronger braking mechanism on Israel. “Accordingly, what we are keeping on the agenda is not relations (or lack thereof) with Israel itself, but rather developing a strategy by using relations with the countries that support Israel and exerting pressure through that,” Fidan underscored.
The extraordinary meeting follows Israel’s announcement of plans to expand its occupation of Gaza. Netanyahu has brushed aside mediation efforts for a cease-fire and instead instructed his military to accelerate implementation of a plan to occupy Gaza City. That plan, approved on Aug. 8, calls for displacing nearly a million residents to the south, surrounding Gaza City, and carrying out ground incursions into residential districts. Fidan noted that many of the 57 countries at the table have strong economic, political and security relations with the West, including the U.S., saying: “It is essential that these relations are used to restrain Israel at some point.” “There are various ideas on this point. We have discussed them among ourselves.”
Referring to the diplomatic efforts, including those by Türkiye, Fidan said it is particularly significant that these efforts dominated and guided the rhetoric regarding the process of recognizing the State of Palestine in the international arena. “When this war began on Oct. 7 (2023), we said that as long as the occupation of Palestine continues, as long as Israeli oppression continues, as long as Palestinians do not have a dignified, unified and sovereign state, it will neither be the first nor the last war in the Middle East between Palestinians and Israelis. “In fact, there is a risk that this war will spread. Thereby, while concentrating on stopping the war in Gaza, we immediately brought forward a serious initiative to bring the two-state solution proposal off the shelf and into reality,” he said. “Now, this strategy we have put forward has been largely determined and adopted by other countries as well because it is a permanent solution,” Fidan added, stressing that while trying to resolve the existing crisis in Gaza, a permanent solution must also be implemented.
