Erdoğan calls on int’l community to act amid Israeli massacres
DUBAI
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reiterated his calls for more coherent and effective action by the international community, especially the Islamic countries, to stop the continued Israeli offensive against civilians stranded in Gaza in an address to representatives of prominent regional countries in Dubai.
Erdoğan attended the World Governments Summit held in the United Arab Emirates as the special guest of honor on Feb. 13. He delivered a comprehensive speech at the meeting, explaining Turkish development in the last quarter century and how Türkiye views regional and global developments, particularly the war in Ukraine and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“The massacres in Gaza should be stopped as soon as possible before more blood is shed and more children and women die,” Erdoğan said, underlining that more than 28,000 in Gaza have been killed as a result of Israeli attacks.
The tragedy of the Palestinians has continued since 1948 and looking at territorial maps of Israel and Palestine since then is enough to understand the seriousness of the problem Erdoğan stated.
“We cannot find the right path to the solution if we can’t identify the problem,” the president underscored. “If Israel wants lasting peace in the region, it must stop pursuing expansionist dreams and accept the existence of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders,” Erdoğan underlined.
Ending both the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza and the conflict that threatens to spill over into the region depends first and foremost on Israel recognizing the most fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, the president urged.
“Every step taken will be incomplete and the problem will remain unsolved without the establishment of an independent, sovereign and geographically integrated Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital. Therefore, the path to peace, tranquility and economic development in our region lies with the establishment of a Palestinian state,” President Erdoğan said. He also recalled that Türkiye has proposed a new mechanism of guarantors should Israel and Palestine agree to hold negotiations for a lasting agreement.
The Turkish President has reaffirmed that Türkiye will never leave Palestinians alone and support them in every possible manner.
Erdoğan meets companies, investors
On the sidelines of the summit, President Erdoğan met with representatives of international investment companies and Emirati family companies. During the meeting, President Erdoğan stated that Türkiye’s trade volume with the UAE has surpassed the level of $20 billion dollars, and the goal is to increase it above the level of $50 billion dollars.
Inviting companies to invest in Türkiye, President Erdoğan noted that nearly 600 companies with UAE capital are currently operating in Türkiye.
In Dubai, Erdoğan did also have a bilateral meeting with UAE’s Mohammed bin Zayid Al Nahyan. The two men discussed bilateral political and economic ties as well as regional developments, particularly Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
Erdoğan stated that Israel’s attacks are unacceptable and its plan to target Rafah City is equally unacceptable. The International community, relevant countries and the UN Security Council should take tangible measures to stop the offensive against the civilians, the president urged.
President Erdoğan will go to Egypt from the UAE on early Feb. 14 to hold talks with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. This will be his first trip to Cairo since November 2012. The meetings will focus on the situation in the Middle East as well as the improvement of Turkish-Egyptian relations.