Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned about the threat of Israeli aggression, saying that the Benjamin Netanyahu government does not want peace and is seeking to expand the conflict to a wider area.
"Netanyahu does not want peace. He wants to spread violence in Gaza across the region," Fidan told reporters in a joint news conference with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty in Cairo on Monday.
He continued by saying that Israel’s “treacherous” assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, who is the chief negotiator of Gaza cease-fire talks, is a clear indication of this.
Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, where he attended the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president.
Iranian state media said Haniyeh, who was based in Qatar and had led the Palestinian resistance group's political operations for years, was hit "by an object from the air" at 2 a.m. (10:30 p.m. GMT Tuesday).
Strongly criticizing Western powers for their double standards, Fidan said they seek to find war crimes in Ukraine but play the three monkeys when it comes to Israel’s occupation in Palestine.
Noting that Türkiye is maintaining intense diplomatic efforts under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to bring perpetrators of Israel’s massacres in Gaza to justice, Fidan said Ankara would submit its formal declaration to join the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Wednesday.
In May, Türkiye announced its decision to join the genocide case launched by South Africa against Israel. In its interim ruling issued in January, the ICJ found it “plausible” that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, ordering it to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee aid flow to civilians, but Israel has steadily ignored the World Court.
Fidan also warned that the region cannot tolerate any more provocations, as he said the West has lost its moral legitimacy “in every sense” as Israel continues to massacre Palestinians on a daily basis.
He also said the U.S. effort to whitewash Israel’s crimes is not acceptable and that the country’s masters need to “pull its leash.” The top Turkish diplomat said Israel’s allies approach different countries like Türkiye and Egypt after Israeli provocations and call for their help to de-escalate tensions.
Following the outbreak of the conflict, Türkiye has been trying to facilitate diplomatic channels to push for a cease-fire amid incessant Israeli airstrikes, which killed almost 40,000 Palestinians and destroyed the blockaded Gaza Strip. Türkiye also vetoes all NATO engagement with Israel over Gaza, arguing the alliance should not engage with Israel as a partner until there is an end to the conflict.
Ankara has harshly denounced Israel’s attacks and blockade on Gaza, halted all trade with Tel Aviv, called for an immediate cease-fire and criticized what it calls unconditional support for Israel by the West.
For his part, Abdelatty called for ending Israel's ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip and facilitating access to humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave "without conditions."
"We discussed the crisis in Gaza, as well as the situation in Libya, Sudan, Yemen, and the Red Sea," Abdelatty said.
"Our message to the world is to work towards ending the war in Gaza and ensuring that aid reaches the enclave without conditions or obstacles," he added.
The top diplomat said that Egypt welcomes Türkiye's readiness to resolve differences with Damascus "in a way that preserves Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
He reiterated Egypt's support for "every sincere effort to reach a comprehensive settlement of the Syrian crisis according to the international framework."
Early Monday, Fidan met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in el-Alamein in northern Egypt at the start of his visit, which also included stops at Egypt's al-Arish port, the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, and the Egyptian Red Crescent Logistics Center.
The Turkish minister also met with North Sinai Governor Major-General Khaled Megawer and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
