Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday urged the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to use every available means to put pressure on Israel and its allies.

Speaking at the 6th Türkiye-Gulf Cooperation Council High-Level Strategic Dialogue meeting of foreign ministers in the Qatari capital of Doha, Fidan said, "The inhumane conditions and treatment faced by Palestinian prisoners cannot be ignored."

"Let us close rank to defend international law, human rights and the universal values that some of our Western friends have forgotten," he said.

"Closer cooperation among us will be essential for establishing peace and security in the region, starting with achieving a just solution for our Palestinian brothers."

Fidan stressed that Israel is committing "barbaric" crimes in Gaza and that the silence of some countries must end.

"We are ready to contribute to the reconstruction of Gaza, but those who destroyed Gaza and aided in its destruction must also compensate for these damages," he said.

Fidan said that the resistance against the occupation in Palestine has become a struggle between oppressors and the oppressed worldwide.

"The recognition of the State of Palestine by more countries and its full membership in the U.N. is a requirement of international law, justice and conscience," he said.

Fidan also held a meeting with Ismail Haniyeh, the political chief of Hamas, on the sidelines of the meeting.

The pair discussed the situation in Gaza and the latest cease-fire proposal, according to the information obtained from diplomatic sources.

Türkiye has been a virulent critic of Israel, has hosted Hamas leaders and welcomes the Palestinian resistance group as a liberation movement, unlike the majority of the Western world.

Earlier on Sunday, Ankara called Israel's operation to free its hostages a "barbaric attack" and accused Israel of war crimes. Israel’s hostage rescue operation in Nuseirat on Saturday left at least 270 dead and 400 others injured, according to Gaza health officials.

Israel's military offensive in retaliation to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel has killed at least 36,801 people in Gaza so far, mostly women and children. Vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid Israel's crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

"As Türkiye, we will continue to make every effort to establish an independent, sovereign and geographically contiguous State of Palestine," Fidan said.

Gulf ties

The Turkish diplomat also expressed his belief that the GCC meeting would yield concrete results, saying, "As Türkiye, we attach special importance to our relations with the Gulf countries."

"The point we have reached in our relations today, as a result of our joint efforts, is gratifying. Our relations continue to strengthen in every area," he added.

Fidan said that the total trade volume between Türkiye and the GCC countries increased by approximately 40% in 2023 compared to the previous year, reaching $31.4 billion (TL 1.02 trillion) and that the trade volume has increased 16-fold in the last 20 years.

He highlighted that Türkiye is one of the most important tourism destinations for Gulf countries, noting that more than 1.5 million Gulf citizens visited the country in 2023.

Joint action

The GCC has separately announced an agreement was reached with Türkiye to extend their joint action plan for cooperation until 2029.

The meeting "provides opportunities for consultation between the two sides on international and regional issues of common interest, working together to enhance the security and stability of the region," the secretary-general of the organization, Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, said after the meeting, according to the official Qatari news agency.

He also noted that the meeting allowed "deepening the bridges of cooperation between the GCC and Türkiye and expanding their scope. It culminated in agreeing to extend the joint action plan between the two sides to the year 2029."

The joint action plan was first approved during the third ministerial meeting between the two sides in 2010, covering 2011 and 2012, and has since been developed and extended to strengthen cooperation in various fields.

Al-Budaiwi highlighted the important outcomes of the recent Gulf-Turkish summit in December, which brought together GCC leaders with Erdoğan in Doha. These outcomes "contributed to enhancing political, security and economic coordination," he said.

Al-Budaiwi also noted that the meeting marked the first time the GCC and Türkiye held a joint ministerial meeting since signing a joint statement in March to begin free trade negotiations.

He underscored that this "is an indication of the strength of the deep strategic partnership between the GCC countries and Türkiye and qualitative leap in the strong relation."

He praised the 2008 memorandum of understanding that established the strategic dialogue based on "historical relations and the common cultural heritage and in response to the desire and firm conviction of the wise leaders from both sides."

The meeting occurred "amid regional and international political and security developments, with rapid events affecting the region, particularly the ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza," al-Budaiwi said.

He pointed out that the meeting "comes in light of worrying regional and international political and security developments, with the accelerating events that the region is going through in view of the war launched by the Israeli occupation forces on the Gaza Strip."