Erdogan renews offer for Turkish mediation in Israeli-Hamas conflict
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan held phone calls with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Erdogan’s Russian counterpart on Tuesday, as Ankara renewed its offer to mediate and soothe tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.
In separate phone calls, Erdogan discussed Turkey’s possible mediation efforts and steps to prevent increasing the tensions in the conflict with Guterres and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to statements by the Turkish presidency.
Following a surprise attack by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip on Israel on Saturday, Turkey stood ready to act as a mediator and to help de-escalate the situation.
On Tuesday, Erdogan renewed his offer for mediation between Israel and the Palestinians to stop the conflict.
“I’m having talks with regional leaders and leaders from other countries and trying to figure out how we can mediate and how we can stop this war,” Erdogan said in a joint press conference with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in Ankara.
“Frankly, I have grave concerns. I don’t think this [conflict] will stop in a week or two. That’s why we’re continuing our efforts for peace,” he said.
Turkey, which backed Palestinians in the past and hosted members of Hamas, had been working to mend ties with Israel after years of animosity before the latest violence.
Erdogan had said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could visit Turkey in October or November to discuss cooperation on energy.
Turkey and Israel often traded barbs on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict prior to normalization of relations that led to reappointment of envoys last year.
But Ankara emphasized diplomatic efforts to achieve calm in the recent conflict, calling on parties to act with restraint.
Erdogan also criticized Israel for imposing a total blockade of Gaza in response to the Hamas attack.
“They cut providing water and electricity to Gaza. Where are the human rights? This is against the universal declaration of human rights,” he said.
Earlier, Erdogan discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog, as well as the leaders of Lebanon, Qatar and Egypt and West Bank Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. (Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Chris Reese editing by Jonathan Oatis)
