Turkey brings together Muslim partners over Gaza
The foreign ministers of seven Muslim countries – Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia – are meeting Monday in Istanbul to try to weigh on the future of Gaza, where the security and humanitarian situation remains precarious despite the truce in force.
They were received by Donald Trump at the end of September in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The American president presented his plan six days later to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip. A fragile ceasefire came into force on October 10, after two years of a devastating war, triggered by Israel after an unprecedented attack by Palestinian Hamas on its territory.
Ahead of Monday’s meeting, the head of Turkish diplomacy, Hakan Fidan, received a delegation from the Hamas political bureau in Istanbul on Saturday, led by Khalil Al-Hayya, the chief negotiator of the Palestinian Islamist movement. “We must end the massacre in Gaza. A ceasefire alone is not enough”Fidan said at a forum in Istanbul, again insisting on a two-state solution. “We must recognize that Gaza must be governed by the Palestinians and proceed with caution”further underlined the Turkish minister.
The head of Turkish diplomacy, who accuses Israel of seeking pretexts to break the ceasefire, will also insist on a strengthening of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
But Ankara’s efforts, which are increasing diplomatic contacts with countries in the region and seeking to change the pro-Israeli position of the United States, are viewed unfavorably by Israel, which judges Ankara too close to Hamas. Israeli leaders have repeatedly expressed their refusal to see Turkey participate in the international stabilization force in Gaza.
Under Donald Trump’s plan, on which the ceasefire agreement is based, this stabilization force, made up mainly of troops from Arab and Muslim countries, must be deployed in Gaza as the Israeli army withdraws. Only countries judged “impartial” will be able to join this force, estimated Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
Another sign of the Israeli government’s distrust: a team of Turkish rescuers dispatched to participate in the search for bodies, including Israeli ones, in the ruins of Gaza, was still waiting at the end of last week for Israeli approval to enter the Palestinian territory, according to Ankara.
