Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to attend a meeting of the Gaza contract group in Madrid, diplomatic sources reported Thursday.
The meeting will bring together the foreign ministers of the contact group from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League, alongside Norwegian and Slovenian top diplomats, representatives from Nigeria, Ireland and Arab League secretary-general Ahmad Aboul Gheit, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
The group will discuss an immediate and permanent cease-fire to Israel’s attacks in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, continued efforts for the recognition of the Palestinian state and the revival of a two-state solution process, sources said.
The foreign ministers and other representatives are expected to be received by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Fidan has led an intense diplomatic push for Türkiye’s aims to facilitate a cease-fire in Gaza, uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave, and necessary steps toward a two-state solution.
He is expected to discuss the steps with his counterparts at the Madrid meeting.
Fidan will argue the need for the international community to put pressure on Israel, more countries to join the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), for Palestine to become a U.N. member and recognized by more countries.
He will emphasize that the reconciliation process between Palestinian factions must be supported and donations to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East must continue.
Türkiye has been a fervent critic of Israel, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler, accusing Tel Aviv of committing genocide and criticizing Western nations for backing Israel.
In May, Türkiye suspended trade with Israel, citing its assault on Gaza, and in August, formally applied to join South Africa's initiative to have Israel tried for genocide at the ICJ.
The contact group was founded in November last year at the extraordinary joint summit of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). It was assigned to take international action to stop the conflict in Gaza and help achieve lasting peace. It includes officials from Türkiye, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Palestine and the OIC.
The group has so far made joint initiatives to stop Israeli attacks on Gaza in several capitals like London, Paris, New York, Washington, Ottawa, Oslo and Madrid.
Countries that oppose Israel’s war on Gaza, which they argue amounts to genocide, argue that the only way to prevent Israel’s decades-long oppressive occupational policy is through a two-state solution.
The number of countries that recognize the state of Palestine climbed to 149 earlier in May after European nations Norway, Ireland, Slovenia and Spain took the formal step.
Friday’s meeting also marks the anniversary of the Oslo Peace Accords signed between Palestine and Israel in 1993. It highlights the fact that Spain hosted the Madrid Conference in 1991, a milestone in the implementation of a two-state solution.
