Peace impossible in region without stopping Israel: Fidan

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has stressed that peace in the region cannot be achieved unless Israel is restrained, emphasizing the urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza, diplomatic sources said.

"Our primary goal should be to stop the destruction in Gaza and achieve a permanent ceasefire. The pressure on Israel needs to be increased," the minister said in his address at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Arab League Gaza Contact Group meeting in Egypt’s capital Cairo on March 23.

Stressing that genocide, forced displacement and apartheid are still continuing in Gaza while this meeting is in progress, Fidan said the Israeli airstrikes on March 18 revealed that Israel has a more comprehensive agenda.

Israel ended the latest ceasefire on March 18 with a surprise wave of strikes that killed hundreds, and it has launched ground incursions in northern Gaza. The military claimed to have “eliminated” dozens of militants in recent days.

Fidan emphasized that the prevention of the delivery of humanitarian aid and the targeting of Syrian and Lebanese territories are indicators of Israel's insistence on this expansionist policy.

Fidan also called for making efforts on Gaza on the basis of Egypt’s plan, diplomatic sources added.

Egypt's Gaza plan, which is supported by all members of the OIC, offers a constructive framework, Fidan stressed.

He said that platforms such as the U.N. should be utilized for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

On March 4, an emergency Arab summit in Cairo adopted Egypt's $53 billion reconstruction plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip without displacing Palestinians from their land.

The Arab proposal came after U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to "take over" Gaza and resettle Palestinians to develop it into what he called the "Riviera of the Middle East."

The plan was rejected by the Arab world and many other nations, who say it amounts to ethnic cleansing.