First lady Emine Erdoğan Sunday said that she wished for a fair world where peace and justice prevail in 2024 and Palestinians find peace and prosperity.
“We leave behind a year in which we were tested as a nation with the disaster of the century but in which we also experienced significant developments in the country, and we greet the year 2024 with new hopes,” the first lady said in her message.
She accompanied President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in his visits within the country and abroad during 2023. She also played significant roles in the fight against climate change, the recovery from the February earthquake and the ongoing war in Gaza.
Türkiye expressed strong solidarity with Palestinians and said it is ready to provide visible and invisible humanitarian support. Türkiye firmly supports a “two-state solution” and advocates for the establishment of a fully independent Palestinian state as the only permanent resolution to the issue.
Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on Oct. 7.
The first lady has been playing an essential role in calling for a cease-fire and coordinating aid for Gaza. She used the COP28 summit in Dubai to bring up the issues and tragedies in Gaza.
Since the first days of the conflict, the first lady called on the international community to “take concrete steps for Gaza” on social media in Turkish, English and Arabic.
Erdoğan held telephone conversations with the spouses of leaders of many countries, including Queen Rania al Abdullah of Jordan and Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the mother of the Emir of Qatar, regarding the attacks on Gaza and the ongoing process.
Furthermore, she hosted a summit in Istanbul last month, titled “One Heart for Palestine,” in a show of global solidarity for Palestinians, gathering first ladies from different countries.
The summit, held at the presidential office in Istanbul’s Dolmabahçe, a diplomatic hub used by Turkish officials to address world crises, delivered a powerful message for the civilians caught in the Gaza Strip.
“For the peace and tranquility of the region and even the world, the unjust occupation of Palestine (by Israel) must end and Israel must return the lands it seized to its owner, the Palestinians,” she advised.
This summit echoed a similar initiative organized by the Turkish first lady in 2009 titled “Women for Peace in Palestine,” which convened first ladies amid heightened conflict in Gaza.
Following the summit, Erdoğan followed up the action plan, which continued the “One Heart for Palestine” summit in coordination with Sheikha Moza in Doha. Again, as a continuation of this initiative, she visited the "Bulletproof Dreams: Gaza Child Painters" exhibition, which opened in Istanbul's Taksim Square on Saturday.
“It is a great pity that we continue in 2023 the call we made to the world for a future worthy of human dignity for Palestinian children 14 years ago... How many more generations will we have to wait to sacrifice to build a permanent and sustainable peace in Palestinian lands? Cease-fire now, peace now,” she said following the exhibition.
She also recently visited pediatric patients who were transferred from the Gaza Strip to Türkiye via Egypt in the capital, Ankara. The 16 children who were transferred to Türkiye from Gaza are being treated at Ankara Etlik City Hospital. Taking care of the children one by one, Erdoğan was informed by the doctors about their medical conditions in detail.
