Turkish ambassador pushes for Gaza cease-fire at Prague meeting of envoys of Arab League, OIC countries

By Askin Kiyagan

PRAGUE (AA) - At a meeting in the Czech capital Tuesday, the Turkish ambassador to Prague called for an immediate cease-fire to end the humanitarian tragedy in the Gaza Strip.

The meeting on the Israel-Palestine issue, hosted by Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, included the participation of ambassadors of Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries.

"I am happy to inform to you that despite their differences on other issues, all members of the OIC as well as the members of the Arab League are fully united when it comes to helping Palestine. However, this is neither an Arab issue nor a Muslim issue. The issue at hand is a humanitarian tragedy," said Turkish Ambassador Egemen Bagis, chairing the group formed by envoys of the OIC member countries in Prague, during the meeting at the Foreign Ministry.

Touching on the ongoing bloodshed in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, despite rising criticism of Israeli attacks and its extremist rhetoric, he stressed that last month’s interim ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is a sign that the Israel must stop its massacres.

Telling how 27,000 Palestinians, 70% of them women and children, have been killed by Israeli forces, Bagis stressed that a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders is the only solution for all Palestinians and Israelis to live in safety.

Bagis warned of the risk of the tension spreading to other countries in the region and said that it is of urgent importance to implement immediate cease-fire and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave.

On ties between Tel Aviv and Prague, Bagis demanded that the Czech Republic take action to end the humanitarian tragedy, adding that they call on Prague to persuade Israel to respect international law and human rights.

Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 cross-border offensive by Palestinian group Hamas have killed more than 27,000 people, besides causing mass destruction and suffering. About 1,200 were killed in the initial Hamas attacks.

Telling how today marks the first anniversary of twin earthquakes that hit Türkiye and Syria on Feb. 6, Bagis thanked the Czech government, Czech people, and the other attending countries at the meeting for the support and solidarity shown to Türkiye.

Catastrophic twin earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 shook southern Türkiye and northern Syria on Feb. 6, 2023, destroying thousands of buildings and killing 53,500 people.