Turkish President Gül calls on international community to mobilize over Gaza

ANKARA

President Gül issued a written statement on the situation in Gaza on July 22. AA Photo

President Abdullah Gül has repeated his call for the international community to mobilize in order to bring about lasting peace and security in Palestine, amid the daily rise of casualties in Gaza.

“It’s clear that similar human tragedies will continue unless the Israeli occupation is ended and lasting protection and freedom to the Palestinian people is provided.  Therefore, I call for related parties to bring about an immediate cease-fire [to the current conflict]. I call on them to launch a serious and comprehensive initiative for lasting peace [in Palestine],” Gül said in his written statement, at a time when the Turkish government has declared three days of national mourning in a bid to display solidarity with the Palestinian people.

“Otherwise, everybody will suffer from this. As I have always said, there will be no winner [at the end of this campaign]. The peace and stability of the world will be negatively affected [by these acts]. Seeds of hatred and anger between the [Israeli and Palestinian] people will grow,” he added. 

“Our sincere wish is that this pain be removed and not be repeated again. But the incidents should not let us forget this reality: The Palestine people have been under occupation and pressure for more than 60 years. The victims already number in the tens of thousands. This ongoing attack by Israel is the last chain of its merciless offensives against Palestine. The irresponsible and careless acts undertaken by Israel unfortunately show us this attack might not be the last,” Gül stated, while underlining that the conscience of the people of Turkey and the world was deeply hurt by the atrocities committed toward the Palestinian people.