President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the head of Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan are working with Qatar on the release of hostages held by Hamas, as he highlighted the importance of establishing an independent Palestinian state for permanent peace in the region.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Erdoğan said Türkiye was striving to make progress in the release of hostages as Israel continues to incessantly bomb civilians in the Gaza Strip.
"Türkiye hopes to achieve positive results on hostage exchange as soon as possible," the president said, adding that Türkiye was in constant communication.
Erdoğan noted that Türkiye's priority is a permanent cease-fire and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza. He rejected Israeli attacks, which he said constituted collective punishment of innocent civilians and amounted to war crimes.
"Attacks on hospitals, places of worship and facilities in Gaza that should be protected as well as the forced displacement of people amount to inhumanity, barbarity," the president said.
"The establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem based on the 1967 borders is now inevitable. In this regard, we will continue to do our utmost," he stressed.
Noting that he discussed the humanitarian crisis in Palestine with Tebboune, Erdoğan highlighted that Algeria is among the countries providing the strongest and most sincere support to the Palestinian cause.
"Without achieving a just political solution to the Palestinian issue, the establishment of lasting peace and stability in our region is not possible," he said. "We have announced that we are ready to act as guarantors, along with regional countries, in the implementation of a fair peace agreed upon by Israel and Palestine."
Algerian and Turkish leaders signed several bilateral agreements, including a contract with Sonatrach to supply gas.
The two leaders entered their bilateral meeting following an official welcoming ceremony at the Algerian Presidential Palace.
Erdoğan and Tebboune chaired the second Türkiye-Algeria High-Level Cooperation Council, where bilateral relations were discussed in all aspects and how cooperation can be further deepened.
In September, Fidan met his Algerian counterpart Ahmed Attaf in Ankara, highlighting expanding relations with North African countries and the wider continent where Türkiye pursues a cooperative, "not exploitative" approach.
