Türkiye has aspired to rally the world to help Palestinians suffering under Israeli aggression since Oct. 7 and find a solution to the ongoing conflict that has already claimed thousands of lives. An intrepid defender of the Palestinian cause, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is at the forefront of diplomatic pressure to achieve this goal.
Between Oct. 7 and Dec. 8, Erdoğan held 30 face-to-face meetings and 32 phone calls with heads of state and other prominent figures. He also attended four international summits where he raised Türkiye’s voice for the prevalence of peace in the region. Erdoğan’s speeches, whether at the Economic Cooperation Summit in Uzbekistan’s Tashkent in November or the COP28 meeting in Dubai, always concentrated on resolving the conflict. On the sidelines of these events, Erdoğan talked with his counterparts about the situation in Gaza. The president also proposed Türkiye’s solutions to the conflict at the extraordinary and rare summit of the Arab League and Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Riyadh.
In his latest remarks earlier this week, before an executive committee meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party), Erdoğan highlighted that the support would continue for the Palestinian cause. Erdoğan told party members that Türkiye would adhere to its responsibilities to stop the bloodshed, end Israel’s atrocities and for sustainable steps for a lasting peace. He underlined that Türkiye has three goals regarding the issue: a permanent cease-fire, the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the lands occupied by Israel and accomplishing the guarantorship model Türkiye suggested as a solution to the conflict.
In the meantime, Türkiye’s top diplomat, Hakan Fidan, continues to participate in a delegation of ministers visiting Western countries to find support for a solution to the conflict. Fidan and other foreign ministers from Muslim and Arab countries recently visited Canada and the United States and will be touring Scandinavian countries on Friday.
Since the first day of the conflict, Türkiye has been trying to facilitate diplomatic channels to push for a cease-fire amid incessant Israeli airstrikes, which killed thousands and destroyed hospitals, homes, schools, marketplaces, churches, mosques, refugee camps and more. Erdoğan has assured that Türkiye is ready to undertake the responsibility of a regional security mechanism if it is established for the conflict and proposed a guarantorship model.
Turkish authorities are also working to bring crimes committed by Israel against Palestinian civilians before the International Criminal Court (ICC) through government agencies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
In remarks to journalists last month, Erdoğan stated that breaking the blockade on Gaza was not possible through the steps of a few countries but that the entire OIC and Arab League countries should unite to make a joint effort and develop strategies. “We need team play. Breaking the blockade does not mean getting limited aid to Gaza. We have to use economic, political, diplomatic, social, cultural leverage to maintain the cease-fire, bring sufficient aid to Gaza and put Gaza devastated by Israel back on its feet,” he said.
“We have to force Israel to account for what it did and comply with international laws. We have more blockades to overcome, like a ‘blockade’ in the U.N.,” he explained, referring to his oft-repeated criticism of the unfair influence of major countries in the international body that thwarts efforts to resolve the issue. “We have to change people’s mindset and tell them what really happens in Palestine; we have to explain the oppression by Israel that has been going on for decades,” he said. “We have to end the fascist approach to matters that has no problem with deaths of Muslims and only cares when Christian or Jewish people die,” he added. “We need a new mindset that sees the killing of people regardless of their religion as a problem,” he said. “We have another blockade that needs to be broken and it is on Palestine’s historical borders: the right of self-determination for people there, their property rights, their right to life. A lasting peace is possible only by breaking all those blockades,” Erdoğan said.
On Thursday, Fidan said that his visit to Norway, where he will meet officials from Nordic countries, will be another instance where they would highlight Ankara's commitment to the righteous cause of Palestine. Fidan, who spoke at a news conference in Azerbaijan’s Baku where he met his counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov, said their work with diplomats from Muslim and Arab countries helped pave the way for “important developments.”
He referred to an increase in the number of countries demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza at the recent U.N. General Assembly, a rise from 121 votes in favor to 153. He said most countries abstaining from voting for a resolution on a cease-fire or voting against it changed their mind and stood with Palestine.
“It obviously indicates the will of the international community to end the oppression. Supporters of Israel should take note. We also expect the U.S. not to block any decisions by the U.N. Security Council. The U.S. is the only country standing between a cease-fire and a massacre in Gaza,” he said.
