Israel’s biggest strength does not lie in its capacities but rather in the division of the Islamic world, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said Wednesday.
“Today, Israel’s biggest strength does not rely on its capacities. Its greatest strength relies, unfortunately, on the disarray and fragmentation of the Islamic world,” Kurtulmuş told Qatar’s Al-Sharq newspaper.
Kurtulmuş reminded that all political parties with a parliamentary group condemned Israel’s attacks in two separate joint declarations and reiterated Türkiye is engaged in efforts to send all kinds of humanitarian aid to those in need in Gaza.
He said that the country also tries to raise awareness of Israel’s attacks on civilians on international platforms, but that he encounters resistance from some countries that defend Tel Aviv.
Regarding the international response to the Gaza crisis, he expressed disappointment that despite nearly 60 days passing since Israel launched attacks on the enclave, the reactions from Islamic countries and organizations have been insufficient.
“Unfortunately, this is the part that saddens people the most. People follow the events in Gaza with great pain and condemn them, but unfortunately, no steps are taken that will yield results. Measures to stop this enmity and barbarism cannot be taken,” he said.
The Parliament speaker touched upon historical ties between Türkiye and Palestine and said that Ankara would continue its efforts to stop Israel’s atrocities.
“We will strive to fight for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Hopefully, in the international arena, as part of a mechanism, Türkiye will continue its efforts in the Palestinian territories as a guarantor state in terms of preserving the cease-fire to be achieved in order to resolve this problem in a short time.”
He said, however, that Israel has also entered a stage of becoming isolated on the international stage. “They have great media, trade and finance powers; they may have the power to influence several parliaments, yet people’s conscience and mind are stronger than these.
“No matter how much the U.S. and the West support it, Israel has now become a great burden for America and the West.”
Referring to former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's statement about changing the borders of 22 Islamic countries and the subsequent events in Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Libya, Kurtulmuş emphasized that the roots of the current situation with Israel's attacks on Gaza should be traced back to the developments that led to them, not just the events starting on Oct. 7.
Israel resumed its military offensive on the Palestinian territory on Friday after the end of a weeklong humanitarian pause with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
At least 16,248 Palestinians, 70% women and children, have been killed, and more than 43,616 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks on the enclave since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas.
The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack continues to stand at 1,200, according to official figures.
On Turkish-Qatari ties, Kurtulmuş emphasized that they were at “an excellent level, based on friendship.”
He expressed his belief that the relations between Türkiye and Qatar would set an example for regional countries.
"Maintaining these relations will be auspicious for both countries. These relations continue at a high and strategic level," he said.
Ankara has been in contact with Qatar, other regional actors and world leaders to help facilitate a cease-fire in Gaza.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was in Doha earlier this week, assured Türkiye and Qatar would “work to manage the process together with the ultimate goal of peace.”
