President Erdoğan spoke at the "Palestine and Lebanon" special session at the D-8 Summit
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a speech at the special session on Palestine and Lebanon held within the 11th Summit of the Organization of the Developing 8 Countries for Economic Cooperation in Cairo, Egypt.
Stating that the pressures and harassment the Palestine people has been subjected to for years have reached unbearable levels with the attacks Israel has been carrying against Gaza for 440 days, President Erdoğan said: “Our 50 thousand brothers and sisters, many of them women and children, have died a martyr’s death and over 100 thousand Palestinians have been injured in these attacks. Al-Quds, which hosts Al-Aqsa Mosque, our first kiblah, is being crushed through policies of Judaization. Lebanon, on the other hand, is faced with additional challenges due to the political and social repercussions as well as physical destruction of the Israeli attacks. As Islamic countries, we, through our initiatives we have launched on various platforms, have endeavored to stop the genocide in Gaza and to find a permanent solution to the Palestine issue. During this period, we have followed with appreciation the efforts exerted by our Egyptian brothers and sisters. However, the Israeli administration is exponentially maintaining its attacks by taking courage from U.S.’s explicit and many Western countries’ indirect support.”
“IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO EXCLUDE ISRAEL FROM INTERNATIONAL ARENA”
“Pointing out that following Lebanon, Syria has also become the target of Israel’s expansionism, President Erdoğan added: “We see Israel’s steps, which ignore Syria’s territorial integrity, including the expansion of the illegal settlements in Golan Heights. I believe that we, as D-8, should show a much stronger reaction against these unlawful acts that threaten the stability of Syria and our region.”
Stressing that Islamic countries should spearhead the steps that could be taken against Israel, President Erdoğan went on to say: “First of all, it is very important to impose a weapon embargo on Israel, to stop trade with it and to exclude it from the international arena. 52 countries, including the two permanent members of the Security Council, and two international organizations have supported our initiative to stop arms sales. We should encourage the involvement of the maximum number of countries in the case, which has been opened by South Africa at the International Court of Justice and which we as Türkiye have made an intervention application.”
“WE SHOULD SPEARHEAD THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW DYNAMICS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERNAL PEACE IN PALESTINE, LEBANON AND SYRIA”
Further stating that reaching a permanent ceasefire in Gaza in short term is important more than ever, President Erdoğan continued as follows: “In this regard, we should all assume responsibility. Our long-term goal, on the other hand, must be to launch a negotiation process to implement two-state solution. We should achieve a result as soon as possible by providing a strong support to the negotiations maintained by Qatar and Egypt on the establishment of a ceasefire. I hope that the establishment of ceasefire in Lebanon and the collapse of the Assad regime will be the beginning of more positive era. We must stand with our brothers and sisters during the trying times Lebanon has been going through. The total amount of the humanitarian aid shipment our country has sent Lebanon is about to reach 1.5 thousand tons. As is the case for Palestine, we should not allow the political disorder to continue in Lebanon as well. We should spearhead the development of new dynamics for the establishment of internal peace in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. That regional countries display a strong solidarity among themselves without interfering in each other’s domestic affairs is undoubtedly of great importance. In this sense, we, as the D-8 countries, should work harder for the establishment of a just and permanent peace in our region.”
