Türkiye almost only country drawing attention to Gaza conflict: Turkish foreign minister

By Merve Berker and Busranur Koca

Türkiye has been one of the only nations to draw attention to the conflict in the Gaza Strip, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Friday.

"Türkiye has been almost the only country to draw attention to the Gaza problem," Fidan said at a news conference after an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in the Czech capital of Prague.

He said at the meeting: "We underlined again that if the massacre and genocide in Gaza are not stopped, if a cease-fire agreement and humanitarian aid operation is not initiated immediately, and if a two-state solution is not pursued, this problem will grow, evolve, involve other actors and turn into a global problem."

Pointing to NATO's stance against the occupation of Ukrainian land, Fidan said the alliance should take a "principled stance" against the occupation of Palestinian territories as well.

He hailed "extremely productive" meetings held recently in Madrid between Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and the Gaza Contact Group, formed by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League.

"Especially in terms of the Palestinian cause, our priorities included to secure recognition of the Palestinian state by more and more countries, to make this recognition more impactful, and to gain greater support for the Palestinian issue," he said. "We have already been focused on this for a long time."

- Sovereignty, not economic aid

Fidan highlighted that recent decisions to recognize Palestine by European nations like Spain, Ireland, Norway and Slovenia have bolstered Türkiye's position.

Noting the significance of more than 150 countries recognizing Palestine, he emphasized that its borders and sovereignty were still under "unbelievable violation and occupation" by Israel.

"Where this occupation exists, Palestine cannot function as an effective state," stressed Fidan. "Especially in the meetings held in Europe last week in Brussels, the financial problems of 'how to strengthen the Palestinian Authority' were constantly brought up."

He said, however, that instead of assisting with the Palestinian administration, other countries should instead "let it stand on its own feet."

"Let it collect its own taxes. Let it have its own customs places. So, if you allow it to function as a full state, there will be no need for the international community to support Palestine so much economically," he explained.

"What is needed is not economic support for Palestine. What is needed is for Palestine to be given its sovereign rights and land as a priority," added Fidan.

- ICJ case against Israel

Fidan said that after Türkiye declared last month it would intervene in the genocide case filed against Israel by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), other nations also gradually started announcing they would also become parties to the trial.

Fidan said Türkiye had also raised the issue at the informal NATO meeting, noting that Spain and several countries have responded positively to the idea of intervening in the case, "which we will use as an effective tool in international diplomacy, as pressure on Israel."

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,200 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and nearly 81,800 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

- Ukraine

Fidan also said the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war was one of the top priorities discussed at the meeting.

"As Türkiye, we support continued assistance to Ukraine, we support Ukraine possessing sufficient deterrence, but we do not want NATO to be a part of this war.

"We think the balance between these two should be observed by NATO countries and NATO as an organization, and this is a generally accepted view," he asserted. "That line needs to be held."

He stressed the need to back Ukraine's territorial integrity and liberation, adding that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made clear the country's "full support for Ukraine."

However, Fidan added that "it is another thing for NATO to take sides in this war" as he warned of the risk of a "bigger crisis of regional proliferation."

The Turkish foreign minister underlined that to end the war, Türkiye has constantly been raising the possibility of diplomacy, which he said has been neglected.

"As Türkiye, we emphasize that not only war-related issues but also dialogue-related methods should be used in the solution of this problem. Failure to do so brings with it greater risks," he said.

Fidan highlighted growing international support for Türkiye and emphasized the need for continued solidarity among NATO member countries.

He expressed concerns about ongoing restrictions imposed by some NATO members, pointing to efforts to resolve issues through bilateral negotiations.

He also stressed the importance of NATO addressing global security challenges proactively.