Erdogan talks with Abbas about the conflict in Gaza

2024-08-15 08:32:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Erdogan talks with Abbas about the conflict in Gaza

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) welcomes Palestinian leader Mahamoud Abbas to a meeting in Ankara, August 14, 2024

The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, hosted the Palestinian leader Mahamoud Abbas in a meeting to discuss the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Turkish Presidency said.

Erdogan's office said late Wednesday that the two leaders discussed "the massacres that Israel is carrying out in the Palestinian territories" and "the steps that must be taken for a permanent ceasefire and peace."

According to the communique, Erdogan pledged to continue support for the "just cause of Palestine" and to work for "increasing the pressure of the international community on Israel... especially from the Islamic world" for the delivery of humanitarian aid and for ensuring peace. .

Abbas arrived in Ankara on Wednesday for a visit that comes at a time when Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel for the killing in Tehran of Ismail Haniyeh - the political leader of Hamas - the radical Palestinian group designated a terrorist organization by the United States. United States and the European Union.

Iran's threat has raised fears of the war spreading across the Middle East region.

Erdogan, a strong supporter of Hamas and the Palestinian cause, invited Abbas after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the US Congress in July. The Palestinian leader is expected to address a special session of the Turkish Parliament on Thursday.

Unlike Western countries, Erdogan has praised Hamas, calling it a liberation movement. He has even welcomed Haniyeh to Turkey several times.

Abbas, who lives in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, is president of the Palestinian Authority, who has been sidelined since the Gaza war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel in the south in October, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping about 250 others.

In addition to supporting Hamas, Erdogan has been among the biggest critics of the Israeli army's operations in Gaza, accusing the Israeli government of committing genocide and comparing Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.

The killing of Haniyeh on July 31 in Iran by a suspected Israeli strike, which came shortly after a top Hezbollah commander was killed in Lebanon, has escalated regional tensions and fears that Iran will retaliate. Shortly before Abbas's arrival in Turkey, the American ambassador to Turkey, Jeffry Flake, said that Washington is seeking the help of Turkey and other friendly governments of Tehran, for the escalation of the situation./ Rel