Riyadh: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stressed that the goal of the Israeli occupation is to settle in Gaza and destroy the Palestinian presence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and eventually annex it.
According to Qatar News Agency, Erdogan said in a speech during the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit held in Riyadh on Monday: So far, 50,000 Palestinians have been martyred, 70 percent of whom are children and women, during the massacres committed by Israel in Gaza and other Palestinian territories, and it is very important that we continue our efforts in coordination to take coercive measures against the perpetrators of genocide crimes in Palestine on the basis of international law and the United Nations Charter.
He underlined the importance of encouraging the involvement of the largest possible number of countries, especially members of the organization, in the case filed by South Africa against Israel before the International Court of Justice, and Turkiye is ready to imple
ment all tangible and realistic proposals that would make Israel realize that its occupation of the Palestinian territories has costs.
The Turkish President added: The UN General Assembly adopted the Palestinian resolution on September 8, 2023, regarding the implementation of the advisory decision of the International Court of Justice, and I believe it is important to follow up on its implementation closely.
He stressed the need to encourage more countries to recognize the State of Palestine, indicating that since October 7, 2023, nine more countries have recognized the State of Palestine, noting that more than ninety countries participated in the meeting of the international coalition held in Riyadh on October 30 and 31 to advance the two-state solution.
He stated that Israel, by recently banning the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), aims to eliminate the two-state solution and prevent Palestinian refugees from returning to their homeland, while expressing
his hope that the Palestinians will be able to achieve national unity among themselves.