Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Lebanon on Tuesday amid his round of diplomatic talks over the Palestine-Israel conflict. Speaking at a joint news conference with his Lebanese counterpart in Beirut, Fidan said the ongoing conflict may lead to a greater war and pave the way for “greater peace.” He said under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, they were working to ensure the latter. Fidan also said Türkiye was exerting efforts to release hostages and civilians caught amid the conflict, noting that several countries contacted them to negotiate the releases.
Türkiye’s top diplomat was on his second visit to the region after meeting his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo last week. At a joint news conference with Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Abdallah Rashid Bouhabib, Fidan made blunt remarks over Israel’s "settlement" policies and conflict resolution.
Türkiye is among the few countries speaking out against Israel as most Western countries rally behind the Netanyahu government’s brutal siege of the Gaza Strip. Fidan’s remarks, at a time of Ankara’s drive to normalize ties with Israel, targeted what he called a perception “engineered by hegemonic powers through media.”
“The perception they created over the years made people forget the true nature of the problem. We see they lied to themselves, to the rest of the world and this lie was institutionalized. It is time to end this. We need new definitions. You occupy someone’s land, seize their home and demolish it. You drive out people and bring another person to settle in that home. You call them ‘settlers.’ The definition of this is theft, and we should call it this way,” Fidan said.
The minister noted that the latest developments showed that such lies cannot be accepted anymore. “This does not bring security and peace for Israelis or Palestinians. There should be an end to disguising lies, oppression and unfair treatment,” he said.
Fidan also lamented that the international community did not heed Türkiye’s warnings for Al-Aqsa Mosque. “The international community should be more sensitive to this issue. Türkiye is a country with a rich experience, history and strength. You should heed our call. You cannot target things people hold sacred. This should end. We call on the international community to adhere to policies based on truth. You know what the truth is,” he said.
He said it was high time for the international community to take a serious step toward a two-state solution based on 1967 borders. “As long as the establishment of a Palestinian state is postponed, peace will not emerge in the region. Türkiye is rather serious about peace between Palestine and Israel and it has clear ideas about it,” he said.
Fidan said Türkiye was working ceaselessly to end the humanitarian drama in Gaza. “We are working to prevent the conflict from causing destabilization in regional countries, particularly Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan,” he said.
Pointing to Türkiye’s close cooperation, primarily with Egypt, he said Ankara had received multiple requests from countries seeking help securing the release of their citizens trapped in Gaza. “Our efforts, especially in the release of foreigners and civilians, are ongoing. Our efforts will continue for the establishment of lasting peace.”
Fidan said they were working on delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and were engaged in contact with regional countries and international bodies to ensure the aid was delivered to millions trapped in Gaza. Türkiye already sent three planeloads of aid to Egypt, which has a border crossing with Gaza. The minister said the international community would organize summits to resolve the conflict.
“Tomorrow, there will be an extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah and on Saturday, there will be a summit of leaders in Cairo,” he noted.
For his part, Lebanon’s Bouhabib said they favored calm in the region, voicing concerns over Israel’s actions near the Lebanese borders that “add fuel to the fire.” He said Israel should cease provocative activities in Lebanon’s south in particular and called for an end to the killing of civilians and journalists in the area.
