Turkish, Palestinian presidents meet in Ankara

By Ferdi Turkten

ANKARA (AA) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Ankara on Wednesday and met with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The two presidents met at the Presidential Complex in the Turkish capital, which was closed to the press.

Abbas will address the Turkish parliament on Thursday during an extraordinary session called to show support for the Palestinian cause.

Abbas will highlight Israel's attacks on Palestinian territories, particularly in Gaza, during his speech. The address will be simultaneously translated into English, Turkish, and French.

President Erdogan will attend the session, demonstrating high-level support for Palestine.

Abbas's two-day visit to Türkiye, starting Wednesday, includes a meeting with Erdogan on the first day, followed by the parliamentary address the next day.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack last year by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Nearly 40,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 92,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

More than ten months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.​​​​​​​

*Writing by Gozde Bayar