Turkish foreign minister discusses Palestine with counterparts

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on May 16 spoke to his Qatari, Palestinian and Pakistani counterparts to discuss the evolving situation in Palestine.

In separate phone calls, Çavuşoğlu discussed the latest developments in Palestine and steps to be taken in the international arena, according to diplomatic sources.

He made phone calls to Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, following the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)'s executive committee meeting.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in airstrikes since May 10, killing at least 197 people, including 34 women and 58 children, as well as injuring 1,235 more people.

Tensions spread from East Jerusalem to Gaza after Palestinian resistance groups there vowed to retaliate against recent Israeli assaults on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood if they were not halted.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.