A delegation comprising foreign ministers from Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria and Jordan has initiated work for a cease-fire in Gaza as Israel continues to ruthlessly target hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure in the blockaded enclave.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is expected to head to London and Paris on Wednesday as part of the efforts to push for a cease-fire and will attend discussions in this regard, diplomatic sources said. The top diplomats headed to Beijing on Monday as part of the first discussions and will head to Moscow on Tuesday.
Fidan reiterated Türkiye’s commitment to resolve the Palestine-Israel conflict but highlighted that without addressing underlying injustice, the cycle of violence in the region would not be broken. Türkiye advocates a two-state solution to the conflict and has long defended Palestinians’ territorial rights. Fidan earlier accused Israel of theft of Palestinian lands. Ankara also calls for an end to what it calls “illegal settler terrorism.”
A Turkish Foreign Ministry source said on Tuesday that the delegation of senior officials would visit the United Nations Security Council’s five permanent members and others to implement an immediate cease-fire.
The group was formed earlier this month at a summit of the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Riyadh. It includes foreign ministers and representatives from Türkiye, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, the Palestinian Authority and the OIC's secretary general.
The source said the group had started talking with the permanent U.N. Security Council members – the U.S., China, Russia, Britain and France – with a visit to Beijing on Monday and would also visit other countries.
“The primary goal of the contact group is for a cease-fire to be announced as soon as possible and for humanitarian aid to be sent to Gaza,” the source said.
“As an end goal, (the group) aims to contribute to the two-state solution within the framework of internationally accepted parameters, to Palestinians living in their own country safely, with stability and prosperity,” the person said.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan did not participate in the Beijing leg of the tour due to his participation in a budget and planning committee meeting at Parliament for his ministry. He will also miss the group’s trip to Moscow on Tuesday as he accompanies President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on a visit to Algeria, the source said. Erdoğan’s visit also concentrates on the Palestine-Israel conflict and the president recently stated Algeria’s position as an influential country in Africa could help rally others in the continent to support efforts for a cease-fire and a permanent solution to the conflict.
Fidan said on Monday he would join the next legs of the tour. He told Al-Jazeera over the weekend that Muslim countries had, for now, decided to use “all diplomatic and humanitarian means” available to end the fighting in Gaza, adding that Israeli attacks on the enclave must be stopped at the U.N. and other platforms with the efforts of like-minded countries. The group will meet British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron during visits to Britain and France on Wednesday, the source said.
Using its rising diplomatic clout, Türkiye exerts efforts to rally the international community to help Palestinians trapped in Gaza under Israeli bombardment. In parallel with immediate cease-fire calls, Ankara highlights a permanent solution to the issue, namely, the establishment of a fully independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“We are determined to ensure permanent peace. The only solution is the establishment of a Palestinian state within 1967 borders,” Fidan said Monday. Israel does not have an internationally recognized border as it violated U.N.-approved 1967 borders and for decades, it expanded its illegal settlements extending into Palestinian territories.
The foreign minister said at a parliamentary meeting in Ankara on Monday that President Erdoğan contacted many leaders, including Israeli and Palestinian presidents, and most recently, joined an emergency meeting of the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the ongoing conflict. “The message in the summit was clear: ending Israeli attacks and immediate implementation of a two-state solution,” Fidan said. On Western support for Israel, Fidan said that the West now “lost its moral superiority.” “But it is significant that regional countries collectively reacted to Israel,” he stated.
Türkiye laments the continuous support, particularly from the U.S., for Israel while conveniently ignoring what Ankara calls war crimes in Gaza. “The blood of the children killed in Gaza is now a stain of shame for those supplying weapons, munitions and intelligence to Israel. Every day, hundreds of children are killed by bombs, but no one, from the European Union to the U.S., no one claiming to defend human rights says a single word. Israel slaughters journalists, along with their families, while they are covering Israel’s massacres, but the international media does not cover it,” President Erdoğan said on Nov. 15.
Fidan stated that it was as shameful and dire as Israel’s continuous attacks to see Western countries with influence on Israel remain silence against the savagery in Gaza and unconditionally support Israel. “This will pave the way for more crises and may lead to unpredictable alliances,” he said.
Targeting innocent civilians is not war or self-defense, but it amounts to barbarity and state terrorism, Erdoğan said Monday, as he slammed Israel’s brutality and disregard for international law as it targets civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza. Speaking after a Cabinet meeting in the capital, Ankara, President Erdoğan criticized the ongoing atrocities and the West’s indifference as he said they refrain from any criticism of Israel because they had committed crimes against Jews in the past. But he said Türkiye is the only country that Israel cannot label as anti-Semitic.
“You cannot see such a stain of shame in Türkiye’s past,” he said. Israel is trying to break the resilience of Gazans by deliberately bombing hospitals in the besieged enclave, Erdoğan said, referring to repeated, deliberate attacks on Gaza hospitals in recent weeks. Israel and its supporters, which use all modern war tools against children, women and the elderly, will be judged before the conscience of humanity, said Erdoğan. Since the beginning of Israel’s attack on Gaza on Oct. 7, the embattled enclave has seen atrocities and cruelty similar to what happened in the medieval Crusades and World War II, he added.
Türkiye is the “only country” that Israel cannot call anti-Semitic, Erdogan said, adding: “You cannot see such a stain of shame in Türkiye’s past.” “If we don’t react to what is happening in Gaza, we will not be able to prevent occupier fanaticism from reaching our own lands tomorrow,” he said.
“Gaza has the same place in our hearts as Karabakh,” he added, referring to the Southern Caucasus region belonging to Azerbaijan, recently liberated from nearly 30 years of Armenian occupation.
Türkiye has dispatched up to 800 tons of humanitarian aid to the region for people in Gaza, said Erdoğan, adding: “While Türkiye mobilizes to stop the bloodshed in Gaza, we feel embarrassed observing the unscrupulousness of Western countries.”
He said in the face of the brutality in Gaza, the responsibility to be the conscience and voice of humanity now lies with Türkiye. “Israel openly admits to having nuclear weapons. However, neither the U.N. Security Council nor the International Atomic Energy Agency has initiated any investigation into this matter,” he said.
