We oppose a plan to deport the Palestinian people from Gaza, regardless of who proposes it, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday.
“Allowing Israel to continue its reckless attacks in Gaza and across Palestine will not only affect Palestinians, it will also set the entire region ablaze,” Fidan said during an extraordinary parliamentary session convened to brief lawmakers on Israel’s assault on Gaza, the genocide and oppression against the Palestinian people, famine policies, and the current regional situation.
“This reckless behavior (Israel's attacks on Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iran) is the clearest sign of a terrorist state mentality that undermines the international order,” Fidan said.
“Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza for the past two years, ignoring basic humanitarian values before the eyes of the world,” Fidan continued, stressing that the atrocities in Gaza have been recorded as one of the darkest chapters in human history.
Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş called for the suspension of Israel’s U.N. and other international memberships over its “genocide policies.”
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), the Yeni Yol Party, the Felicity-affiliated Yeniden Refah Party, the Turkish Workers’ Party (TIP), the Labor Party (EMEP), and the Democrat Party (DP) jointly submitted a petition for a parliamentary session on Gaza.
Israel has killed nearly 62,200 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its war on the enclave.
“We have fully severed our trade with Israel. We do not permit Turkish ships to dock at Israeli ports. We do not allow (Israeli) planes to enter our airspace,” Fidan reminded.
The Turkish public and government are major supporters of the Palestinian cause. Türkiye has been a traditional ally to Palestine, but as the Israeli attacks became more brutal, Ankara has become harsher in its criticism in the past year. It has condemned what it calls genocide, halted all trade with Israel and applied to join the genocide case against Israel at the World Court, which Israel rejects.
In addition to delivering humanitarian aid, Türkiye has sought to rally international organizations, including the United Nations, NATO and the OIC, to restrain Israel.
