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Reaction of Turkish Politics to Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza -2- |
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Wednesday, 31 December 2008Babacan calls on Israel for 'immediate stop' to attacks
The Foreign Minister of Egypt, Ahmad Abu al Gheit met with his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan in Ankara on Monday. Gaza Strip was on the top of the agenda. "We call on Israel to immediately stop the military operation," Babacan told reporters. "The continuation of the conflict may spread beyond the boundaries of Gaza and reach another phase that would pose a serious risk for the region," he said.
Babacan said "The continuation of the talks under these conditions is naturally impossible. To make war on the Israeli-Palestinian track and at the same time make peace on the Israeli-Syrian track -- these two cannot go together," after the closed meeting. "I repeat my call for an immediate cease-fire. The guns should be silenced and diplomacy should start working," Babacan stressed.
Ali Babacan, in the meantime, also advised Hamas to stop rocket attacks on Israel and called on the international community to mobilise to provide humanitarian assistance for the Palestinians in the territory.
Gheit also met with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan after his meeting with Ali Babacan. After a short meeting with Gheit, Abdullah Gul said that a humanitarian aid has to be started in the region immediately.
Sources from the prime minister's office said "It is not possible to remain silent to the tragedy in Gaza and the international community -- the UN, in particular -- has a big role to play to put an end to this tragedy," Erdogan told Gheit. Erdogan also said the most important thing to do for the moment is to transport humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Gul will not go to Israel until the battle ends
Israeli air strikes on Gaza caused Turkish President to change his program. Abdullah Gul had delayed his visit to Israel because of his ear illness on December 15 and now says that he will not visit Israel until the strikes end on Gaza. His advisors have started to try to appoint a new date for delayed visits; however, right after the hundreds of civilians were killed in Gaza everything related to “Israel visit” was stopped.
Erdogan to visit regional countries
It’s Turkey’s main goal to put an end to bloodshed in the region so that Turkey will take action. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will begin a tour of regional countries including Syria, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia and will have talks with leaders. “Tour will start on Wednesday and it’s expected to take at least two days,” Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek said. The reason of Erdogan’s visit is to decrease the tension of the region and put an effort to stop Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
Salih Dogan |
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Journal of Turkish Weekly
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