Erdoğan vows 'not to leave an inch of Gaza' to Israel

ISTANBUL

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed staunch support for Palestinians in Gaza, pledging not to relinquish "a single inch of Gaza's land to Israel" amid the ongoing conflict with militant group Hamas.

"Gaza is Palestinian land, Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and will remain so forever," Erdoğan said during the opening session of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Istanbul on Dec. 4.

The president said the Islamic world has a responsibility "not to yield any part of Gaza to the occupying Israeli forces," highlighting the broader implications. "We must do this not only for our brothers in Gaza and Palestine but also for our own security and territorial integrity," he said.

Erdoğan underlined the significance of unity within the OIC, citing decisions made during a recent joint summit with the Arab League in the Saudi capital Riyadh, which defined the "occupying settlers as terrorists for the first time."

A group of foreign ministers, formed as part of the summit, will continue talks until the conflict in Gaza comes to a halt, Erdoğan informed.

“We also need to take other steps... Holding Israeli leaders accountable for the war crimes they have committed is one of them," he added, reiterating his call for the International Court of Justice to try Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Netanyahu will be tried just like [Slobodan] Milosevic was tried," Erdoğan affirmed, drawing parallels to the former Serbian leader whose nationalist policies in the 1990s caused bloodshed and destruction.

Milosevic was first indicted for war crimes in Kosovo by a chief prosecutor in The Hague in March 1999. His charge sheet then extended to include indictments on Croatia and Bosnia, with the latter case accusing him of genocide for his alleged collusion in the massacre of more than 7,000 Muslim males at Srebrenica in July 1995.

Following his address in Istanbul, Erdoğan departed for Doha to attend a meeting with Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The two-day visit to "strategic partner Qatar" is expected to cover various aspects of bilateral relations and include discussions on regional and global issues, particularly the Israeli attacks on Gaza and other Palestinian territories, according to Erdoğan's office.

The Turkish delegation includes Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.

Additionally, Erdoğan is set to participate in the 44th summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, chaired by Al Thani, where regional matters will be on the agenda.