President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday hit out at what he termed "forces of sedition" trying to disrupt the recent thaw in Turkish politics.

"Türkiye will not let them thrive," he told his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) parliamentary meeting in Ankara.

Erdoğan was alluding to the "climate of positivity" in Turkish politics after he and the main opposition’s Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel held a rare tete-a-tete last week.

The groundbreaking meeting, which insiders said took place in a "constructive and productive" atmosphere, came after unprecedented wins for CHP in the March 31 local elections and amid efforts at Parliament to replace Türkiye’s coup-era Constitution.

Coup allegations

In Türkiye, "there is a need for a softening in politics, and as always, we are doing and will do our part in this regard. After all, we have never been and will never be on the side of polarization and tension caused by factionalism," Erdoğan said in a thinly veiled reference to recent allegations of a new coup attempt against himself and his government.

Authorities uncovered the alleged plot when a secret eyewitness in an ongoing investigation linked to a criminal gang led by currently jailed Ayhan Bora Kaplan was exposed. It was revealed that three high-ranking police officers – now suspended – attempted to ensnare prominent politicians in a graft probe by employing the said witness.

Allegations were eerily similar to a plot by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which utilized its infiltrators in law enforcement and the judiciary to attempt to topple the government in 2013 by fabricated allegations against government officials in a graft probe.

"We are aware of those whose sole capital in politics is dividing people and what they’re trying to achieve," Erdoğan said. "But we will overcome it as we have similar attempts in the past."

Constitution talks

"We see the benefit in concluding consultative contacts without rushing, yet not excessively prolonging and taking concrete steps toward (a new constitution)," Erdoğan continued.

Erdoğan’s government has been pushing to overhaul Tükiye’s Constitution for over a decade now, which was enforced in 1982 following a military coup that led to the detention of hundreds of thousands of people along with mass trials, torture and executions, which still represents a dark period in Turkish political history.

Since its first draft was shelved in 2007, the AK Party has been working on "stronger" material, including changes focused on freedom, the right to security, the right to a fair trial, freedom of speech and the rights of women and the disabled.

Parties are giving unprejudiced support for a new constitution, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said earlier this month after holding meetings with party leaders. However, Özel insisted during his meeting with Erdoğan that the CHP wouldn’t participate in draft talks "as long as the current Constitution is not executed."

"We believe that the will for a civil constitution should not be sacrificed to the transient debates of daily politics," Erdoğan said. "It is important for us to support the efforts of our parliament speaker in the matter of a new and civil constitution."

‘Netanyahu will pay’

Turning to the 76th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakhba, Erdoğan sent his regards to the Palestinians and said Türkiye "preserves the hope that they will soon return to their homes."

He stressed that Türkiye would "continue to stand by Hamas, which is fighting for its own land's independence and defending Anatolia."

"Israel will not stop in Gaza, and if not stopped, this rogue state will eventually target Anatolia with its delusions of a promised land."

He reiterated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Netanyahu and those complicit in genocide will be held accountable for every drop of blood they have shed."

He said: "On Nakhba, the Day of Catastrophe, we once again declare with all our being and resources that we stand by Palestine and the Palestinian cause."

"We (Türkiye) will also ensure that the perpetrators of genocide face justice," he added.

Türkiye on Tuesday said it decided to submit its declaration of official intervention in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), becoming the third nation after Nicaragua and Colombia to take legal action against Tel Aviv over its ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The filing of the application corresponds to May 15, a day solemnly observed by Palestinians worldwide to commemorate the Nakhba anniversary.

Palestinians, both within Palestine and abroad, mark this day with various events that honor the significance of this tragic historical event.

On Sunday, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics released a report marking the 76th Nakhba anniversary, indicating that since 1948, around 134,000 Palestinians and Arabs have been killed both inside and outside Palestine.

The Nakhba anniversary this year comes as the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip are experiencing an devastating Israeli onslaught that has been taking place since Oct. 7, and has left over 35,000 Palestinians killed, mostly women and children.