Erdoğan to visit Egypt soon for Gaza talks

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said he may soon visit Egypt to discuss the latest developments regarding the Israeli offensive on Gaza as well as Türkiye’s efforts to transfer the Palestinian patients to Turkish hospitals.

“I may organize a visit to Egypt very soon. The issue we will discuss in Egypt will be ‘How can we evacuate patients [from Gaza]?’ We want to bring all of them as soon as possible,” Erdoğan told reporters on his return from Algeria on Nov. 22.

Türkiye has already transferred around 100 patients and their companions to the Turkish hospitals as there are no efficient health centers left in Gaza due to continued Israeli bombings. The evacuations from Gaza are being held through the Rafah crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border.

“The Egyptian authorities are taking positive steps regarding the [passages from] Rafah crossing,” Erdoğan said, recalling that Türkiye has already evacuated 88 cancer patients and 67 companions.

The Turkish government wants to bring all the patients by giving priority to those who need medical operation, Erdoğan added.

Israeli siege should be broken

On a question, Erdoğan underlined the need to break the siege imposed by Israel on Gaza that restricts the flow of humanitarian aid, fuel and other needs to the civilians. “Breaking the siege will be possible only by the steps and strategies to be implemented by the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League, not only with the efforts of a few countries. A complete teamwork should be put in place,” he said.

Breaking the siege does not only mean allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza but achieving a ceasefire by using economic, political, diplomatic, sociologic and cultural means against Israel, the president stressed.

“The most important is to break the siege in the minds of the people by changing their perspectives on what’s happening in Palestine and explaining the Israeli cruelty,” the president added.

The only way to discourage Israel from attacking Palestinians is to act like one fist, Erdoğan said, repeating his calls for both Western and Muslim nations to come together to support the Gazan people against Israel’s indiscriminate offensive that killed more than 13,000 civilians so far.

Foreign investment won’t be affected

On the question of whether foreign investors will refrain from coming to Türkiye because of its strong condemnation of Israel, Erdoğan expressed his belief that there will be no such hesitation.

“I don’t have such a concern. The world is aware of the value of Türkiye, and so are global investors. I don’t think global investors will refrain from investing in Türkiye except for a few marginal ones. In order to attract global capital, we will continue to act with the principle of win-win while demonstrating a humane stance that suits Türkiye,” Erdoğan stated.