No Mideast peace unless Palestinian-Israeli conflict resolved: Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after addressing world leaders during the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on September 19, 2023 in New York City. (AFP)
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Updated 19 September 2023
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No Mideast peace unless Palestinian-Israeli conflict resolved: Erdogan

  • Turkish president vows to ‘continue to support the Palestinian people’ in their ‘legitimate’ struggle
  • Syria’s humanitarian tragedy worsens ‘the living conditions of everyone in the region’

LONDON: Unless the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is resolved, peace will not prevail in the Middle East, Turkiye’s president told the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to “continue to support the Palestinian people” in “the struggle for their legitimate right under international law.”

He added that “without the realization of an independent and geographically integrated Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, it’s difficult for Israel to find the peace and security it seeks in that part of the world.”

He said Kurdish “terrorist organizations” and sectarian radical groups have “overwhelmed” the Syrian people.  

“The biggest threat to Syria’s territorial integrity and political unity is the support given to terrorist organizations guided by the powers that have designs on this country,” he added.

Syria’s humanitarian tragedy, in its 13th year, worsens “the living conditions of everyone in the region, regardless of their origin and their faith,” Erdogan said, calling for “a comprehensive, lasting and sustainable solution that meets the legitimate expectations of the people.”  

Turkiye is “the only country to take a principled, constructive and fair stance against developments that threaten Syria’s political unity, social integrity and economic well-being,” he said.   

Erdogan also called for a rapid restructuring of the institutions charged with ensuring global security, peace and prosperity, emphasizing that this must be achieved under UN auspices. 

 “We must build a global governance architecture that’s capable of representing all origins, beliefs and cultures in the world,” he said.


Israel defense minister vows to stay in Gaza, establish outposts

Updated 6 sec ago
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Israel defense minister vows to stay in Gaza, establish outposts

  • His remarks, reported across Israeli media, come as a fragile US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas holds in Gaza

JERUSALEM: Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday vowed Israel will remain in Gaza and pledged to establish outposts in the north of the Palestinian territory, according to a video of a speech published by Israeli media.
His remarks, reported across Israeli media, come as a fragile US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas holds in Gaza.
Mediators are pressing for the implementation of the next phases of the truce, which would involve an Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
Speaking at an event in the Israeli settlement of Beit El in the occupied West Bank, Katz said: “We are deep inside Gaza, and we will never leave Gaza — there will be no such thing.”
“We are there to protect, to prevent what happened (from happening again),” he added, according to a video published by Israeli news site Ynet.
Katz also vowed to establish outposts in the north of Gaza in place of settlements that had been evacuated during Israel’s unilateral disengagement from the territory in 2005.
“When the time comes, God willing, we will establish in northern Gaza, Nahal outposts in place of the communities that were uprooted,” Katz said, referring to military-agricultural settlements set up by Israeli soldiers.
“We will do this in the right way and at the appropriate time.”
Katz’s remarks were slammed by former minister and chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, who accused the government of “acting against the broad national consensus, during a critical period for Israel’s national security.”
“While the government votes with one hand in favor of the Trump plan, with the other hand it sells fables about isolated settlement nuclei in the (Gaza) Strip,” he wrote on X, referring to the Gaza peace plan brokered by US President Donald Trump.
The next phases of Trump’s plan would involve an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the establishment of an interim authority to govern the territory in place of Hamas and the deployment of an international stabilization force.
It also envisages the demilitarization of Gaza, including the disarmament of Hamas, which the group has refused.
On Thursday, several Israelis entered the Gaza Strip in defiance of army orders and held a symbolic flag-raising ceremony to call for the reoccupation and resettlement of the Palestinian territory.