Turkey calls for permanent solution to Palestine, condemns Israel

Turkey's National Security Council Wednesday called on the international community to fulfill its responsibility to find a just and permanent solution to the Palestinian issue.

In a five-hour meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex in the capital Ankara, senior Turkish officials discussed foreign policy, terrorism and regional developments, said a council statement.

The security council condemned Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian lands and its attacks on the civilian population.


An Egyptian-brokered truce that took effect in the early hours of May 21 ended Israel's 11-day bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli attacks in Gaza and the West Bank killed at least 289 people, including women and children, and left behind a trail of destruction. Health centers and media offices, as well as schools, were among the structures targeted.


The council also said in the statement that Turkey supports a two-state solution in Cyprus with resolve and will continue its precautions to protect the rights of Cypriot Turks.

With regards to tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, the council urged parties to refrain from “extrajudicial moves” and “aggressive rhetoric.”

The council also stressed that military operations along the country's southern border will decisively continue to eliminate terrorist groups and to ensure uninterrupted safety for the country.

Turkey launched operations Claw-Lightning and Claw-Thunderbolt on April 23 in northern Iraq's Metina and Avasin-Basyan regions near Turkey's borders.

The PKK terror group often hides out in northern Iraq, just across Turkey's southern border, to plot terrorist attacks in Turkey.

In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.