UPDATE - Turkish president welcomes Arab-Islamic summit resolution proposing denuclearization conference

REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, ADDS MORE QUOTES FROM TURKISH PRESIDENT

By Gozde Bayar

Türkiye's president on Sunday welcomed the Arab-Islamic summit resolution proposing to hold a denuclearization conference in the region due to Israel's nuclear weapons.

"For the first time, we are proposing a 'Denuclearization Conference' in the region due to Israel's nuclear weapons," Erdogan told reporters aboard the presidential plane on his way back from the Saudi capital Riyadh, where he attended the Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit on Saturday.

The resolution "condemned the hateful, extremist and racist acts and statements made by ministers in the Israeli occupation government, including the threat by one of the ministers to use nuclear weapons against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, being a serious threat to global peace and security, which requires supporting the conference to establish a zone free of nuclear weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, held within the framework of the United Nations and its objectives to confront this threat."

Last Sunday, Israeli Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu, a member of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, told Israeli media that dropping a "nuclear bomb" on the Gaza Strip was "an option."

Erdogan said that the issue of denuclearization is very important in terms of revealing which actors are supporting Israel.

“All the topics we planned before going to the summit were included in the final text. The (resolution) text contains many action points, that have never been said before, that define (Israeli) settlers as terrorists and even produce geostrategy,” he added.

“Now, it is of great importance that both the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League came together and took this step (resolution) because this is the first time in the history of the two organizations that such a meeting took place,” he added.

For the resolution, he said they used a phrase called “breaking the siege,” adding: “An action-oriented definition was introduced rather than the diplomatic definition.”

Underlining the importance of the “break the siege” article in the resolution, he said it requires the immediate entry of Arab, Islamic, and international humanitarian aid convoys containing food, medicine, and fuel into the Gaza Strip.

As there are shortages of fuel, water, and food, Erdogan said that the most important country that needs to be involved is the US, which has an influence on Israel.

“Gaza is, first of all, the land of the Palestinian people. The US needs to accept this. If (US President Joe) Biden has the approach of saying ‘No, this is the land of the occupying settlers or Israel, rather than the land of the Palestinian people’, we can't reach an agreement,” he added.

Regarding French President Emmanuel Macron's approach, Erdogan said Macron first fully supported Israel and visited the country, but now he has changed his rhetoric.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, including hospitals, residences, and houses of worship.

At least 11,100 Palestinians have been killed, including 8,000 children and women.

The Israeli death toll is nearly 1,200, according to official figures.