President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated his call for an immediate cease-fire in the Palestine-Israel conflict and called on the West to exert pressure on Israel to achieve it.
In an interview with journalists, as he was returning home from Uzbekistan, Erdoğan said it would be easier to stop Israel if the United States, its major ally, “feels the same way as we do to stop the bleeding wound,” in reference to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
"We need solid steps, not empty promises, humanitarian 'stunts.' They say they are working on a better road map. U.N. resolutions are the best road map. He urged the Western countries to put pressure on Israel to implement U.N. resolutions if they are “sincere” on a cease-fire.
"People are dying. Mothers are losing their babies, children lose their parents," he said.
Erdoğan also talked about the upcoming summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and stated that the decisions at the summit would be a major step to stop Israeli oppression.
On a question on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's recent visit to Ankara where he appeared to receive a lukewarm welcome, Erdoğan said the Foreign Ministry approached the visit in line with diplomatic protocols. Blinken was welcomed at the airport by the deputy governor of Ankara instead of a Foreign Ministry official before he held talks with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Fidan and Blinken did not hold a joint news conference as Fidan did usually with visiting foreign ministers. "The Foreign Ministry acted in a way fitting its mission," Erdoğan told reporters. The president himself was not in Ankara the day Blinken visited and preferred to stay in his hometown Rize where he met locals for a casual chat.
"The United States is protested worldwide. Endorsing Israel's massacre in Gaza made the United States the target of reactions," he said.
Erdoğan said some 1.5 million people convened in Istanbul within three days of their announcement for a rally for solidarity with Palestinians. "This means that people want to raise their voices, want their voices to be heard in the world. If Blinken says he went to Israel as a Jew, this is how people will respond," he said. Blinken's remarks during his visit to Tel Aviv gave rise to criticism of the U.S. response to the conflict.
The president said Fidan presented Türkiye's proposals to Blinken, such as increasing the number of aid trucks allowed to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, from the daily 20-30 trucks to at least 500 trucks. He said Blinken responded positively to the proposal.
The president said they were using all diplomatic means for a humanitarian approach and find a solution on the ground. "Human rights and international law demand an immediate cessation of this dirty war," he said.
He said Israel should not place itself outside international law, adding that everybody should oppose such recklessness. Without resolving the Israel issue, there can be no talk of peace in the region or world, and no comprehensive international legal order can be fully realized, Erdoğan added.
On the situation of hostages taken by Hamas, Erdoğan said Hamas had no intention to keep civilians hostage for a long time. He said Türkiye was ready to resolve the issue while pointing out "hostages" taken by Israel. "They arrested about 2,000 people in the past month in the West Bank. They have nearly 10,000 people, from women and children, imprisoned in Israel (before the conflict). Hamas' stance is that Israel should release Palestinians first," he said.
On Türkiye's priorities at this weekend's extraordinary OIC summit, Erdoğan said the summit's main theme will be the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
"We will gather to discuss the topic in detail and negotiate to ensure an immediate humanitarian cease-fire. We will focus on the questions: What can each country participating here do? What can the Gulf countries do?" he said. "Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, we will discuss in detail what each of us can do.
"Islamic countries have a stance on the Palestinian cause and we have many things to do for a cease-fire and a permanent peace. We have to take efficient, concrete steps to serve peace. Unplanned steps without a strategy will harm the Palestinian cause. We will share our views with our brothers at the summit," he said.
"Israel did not start massacring Palestinians just yesterday. It goes back to 1940s. I highlighted this at the recent United Nations General Assembly. You see where Palestinians used to live in those years and how much land they are left with today. You see how Israel (enlarged) its territory. It is almost like Israel and Palestine exchanged maps," he said.
Erdoğan underlined that all the Western countries, particularly the United States, have stood with Israel since the beginning and praised criticism from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the issue.
Guterres last month criticized Israel's relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip and spoke of "clear violations of international humanitarian law" and "collective punishment."
"The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence, their economy stifled, their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing," Guterres has said.
In response, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan called for Guterres to resign, calling the words "shocking" and demanded that he be removed from office. "Guterres knows the truth, knows what is right. He stood with the righteous. How many are sided with Israel and the U.S.? In the U.N. vote on a humanitarian cease-fire, 120 countries stood strong. These brave countries gave a message to the world. They told the world that the United States is not right no matter how powerful it is. They told the world that Israel is not right," he said.
The president said they would work to press Israel to open a humanitarian aid corridor and transfer injured Palestinians outside Gaza, as well as patients at the Gaza hospitals. He noted that Türkiye was ready to treat the injured and other patients at hospitals in Türkiye. "We received some positive signals on this front," he added.
