The Asian Parliamentary Assembly convened in the southern Turkish province of Antalya on Monday for its executive committee meeting. The agenda of lawmakers, including those from Palestine, was the Israeli attacks on Gaza, which temporarily ceased after a truce.

Parliamentary Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş hit out at the West for turning a blind eye to Israel’s atrocities and said that the only solution to the conflict was the establishment of a fully sovereign Palestinian state that would bring peace to the wider Middle East.

The Turkish Parliament has condemned Israel’s attacks after the conflict reignited on Oct. 7, in a rare unanimous decision. Türkiye has repeatedly condemned Israel for attacks on innocent civilians in besieged Gaza and reiterated a two-state solution to the issue.

Kurtulmuş told lawmakers that the most blatant and damning example of the failure of the current world order was the massacre of Palestinian people in Gaza that has reached the level of genocide. "Unfortunately, the Western countries that have a say in international affairs, particularly the United States, take sides even in the face of this blatant massacre and lack humanity to openly tell Israel that it is engaged in a massacre. On the contrary, they turned a blind eye to the massacre," he said. Kurtulmuş pointed out that a child was killed every 10 minutes by the Israeli attacks, which amounted to state terrorism, and expressed hope that the emergency truce declared in the region would be permanent.

He noted that three basic issues should be addressed to get results in solving the conflict. "One of them is the establishment of a fully free Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Secondly, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and other sites sacred to the Muslim and Christian communities should be safeguarded by the international community. Lastly, invaders or thieves called ‘settlers’ should be expelled from (the Palestinian lands) they invaded and Palestinians should be resettled there. Without resolving these three issues, peace will not come to the Middle East," he said, urging the international community to take action.

Kurtulmuş said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his "gang" should be held accountable for the cruelty they committed, "like the killers involved in the Sarajevo massacre who stood trial before international courts," he said.

He stated that among all the negative developments, there was a glimmer of hope with more people expressing solidarity with Palestinians. "All around the world, people are waking up. Thousands took to the streets in Washington D.C., New York, Paris, Berlin, in places where governments support Israel. They call their leaders to intervene to stop the oppression," he said.

Ali Faisal, Palestinian National Council deputy chairperson, told the meeting that Israel was using prohibited weapons in attacks on Palestinians and was intent on wiping out 2.5 million people under blockade in Gaza. Faisal called on the international community to recognize the legitimate resistance of Palestinians and work to lift the blockade of Gaza. Faisal called countries represented in the Asian Parliamentary Assembly for a political and economic boycott of Israel.

"Children are killed, people cannot find bread. They have no food or water in Gaza," Faisal said, adding that Gaza would never surrender in the face of these developments. Faisal accused "major powers" of doing all to ensure stability would not be maintained in the region and the war to prevail.