Turkish parliament to host Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas

ANKARA

 Türkiye announced on Wednesday plans to invite Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address its parliament.

"If there are no setbacks in the coming days, we will invite Mr. Abbas to the General Assembly of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, where he will present the Palestinian cause before the members of parliament," Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said.

The visit comes in the backdrop of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's assassination earlier in the day in an airstrike in Tehran, heightening the risk of regional conflagration.

In Gaza, Israel has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians since a cross-border attack by Hamas in October.

Earlier this month, the International Court of Justice in an advisory opinion said Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is unlawful and should end.

Last week, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed his expectation for an apology from Abbas after he declined an invitation to visit Türkiye and address the Turkish parliament.

"Some political parties in my country say that 'the government should invite the Palestinian president to Türkiye and have him speak in parliament.' Who is telling you that we did not do that?" Erdoğan said during an event on July 27.