Some countries encouraged Israel to continue attacks on Gaza: Turkish deputy foreign minister

By Muhammet Ikbal Arslan

GENEVA (AA) - Some countries encouraged Israel to continue its attacks on the Gaza Strip, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yildiz said Wednesday.

Speaking to Anadolu in Geneva where he came to participate in the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Yildiz noted his presentation on behalf of Türkiye during the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) hearing on Israeli policies in occupied Palestine.

"In our presentation, we underscored the illegality of the occupation. We also highlighted that Israel deliberately extended the occupation, which has become increasingly unbearable. Therefore, we maintained that the occupation should end immediately and the historical status of the holy places should be respected and preserved. We also stressed that urgency of a cease-fire, followed by negotiations for the two-state solution, as the only way to end this long-lasting conflict, "he said.

More peculiarly, on the ongoing relentless Israeli attacks on Gaza, Yildiz said Israel's use of force exceeded all acceptable, legitimate limits of the right to self-defense.

"As a general attitude, states intervene to stop when a conflict breaks out. However, in this case, some countries encouraged Israel to continue its attacks on Gaza," he said, adding that Türkiye, as a regional actor affected by the instability, wants an immediate cease-fire.

“In this vein, we are part of the contact group which includes eight countries in the region and lobbies for an immediate cease-fire,” said Yildiz.

He added that the group is also working to form a mechanism that will ensure talks between the Palestinians and Israelis take place under the monitoring of international actors.