Istanbul (Reuters) – Turkey stands with Egypt in rejecting the exile of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in the face of Israel’s war with the Hamas militant group, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said alongside his counterpart in Cairo on Saturday.
Fidan, on his first trip as minister to Egypt, said it is important to act to stop the conflict from spreading and to re-start peace talks centred on achieving a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.
“We reject the policy of Palestinians’ being removed from their homes in Gaza and exiled into Egypt. We are fully against it and stand with Egypt,” Fidan said.
“The loss of civilian life must be stopped regardless of which side they’re on,” he said. “We see that some states try to justify Israel’s attacks on Gaza as some sort of justifiable act. We invite Israel to stick to international law and humanitarian values.”
Since Hamas fighters launched a bloody rampage through Israeli towns a week ago, Israel has bombarded Gaza with air strikes and given the entire population of the north until Saturday morning to move south.
Turkey has long had contacts with Hamas but has also worked to repair ties with Israel after years of acrimony.
Since war broke out, Ankara has launched diplomacy seeking to mediate the conflict, sent aid for Palestinians and slammed Israel’s call for Gazans to move south as inhumane and a violation of international law.
