Turkish lawmaker vows to continue support for Palestine

By Emin Avundukluoglu and Alper Atalay

ANKARA (AA) - A Turkish parliamentarian said on Thursday that the country would continue its support for Palestine until Israel lifts its embargo on Gaza.

The ruling Justice and Development Party's Hasan Turan, who chairs the parliament's Turkey-Palestine friendship group, told Anadolu Agency in an interview that peace in the Middle East region cannot be achieved until there is peace in Palestine.

"Turkey has made efforts for lifting the Israeli embargo on Gaza on many international forums,” he said.

Speaking about a Turkish aid ship Sefkat which reached Gaza last week, Turan said that Turkey has always stood against inhuman treatment directed at Palestinians, and the threats against Al-Quds.

The ship carrying 10,000 tons of supplies to the blockaded Gaza Strip, arrived at Israel's Ashdod port on Wednesday before Eid al-Fitr on June 22.

Turan said that Turkey gave $6 billion in grants, coming only second to the U.S., which gave $6.3 billion in grants to other countries.

“Aids make up to 0.75 percent of Turkey’s gross domestic product, which makes Turkey the most generous country in the world,” he said.

Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been under a crippling Israeli embargo that has deprived the 2 million population of basic commodities including food, fuel and medicine.

In 2016, Turkey sent two aid ships to Gaza carrying more than 22,000 tons of aid supplies after Ankara normalized ties with Israel following a six-year hiatus.