In the early days of the events in Gaza, the President of Turkey, Erdogan, in a telephone conversation with the President of the Zionist regime, Isaac Herzog, emphasized that any action that harms the residents of Gaza collectively and without distinguishing individuals will have no result but increasing the sufferings and violence in the region.

Erdogan emphasized the necessity of restraint and creating peace in the shortest possible time and continued Turkey’s efforts to “end the worrying conflicts and realize permanent peace.” Erdoğan stated that the escalation of tensions between the Zionist regime and Palestine will not end soon, and we are thinking of mediation to end the war. He said they believe peace will not return to the region without forming an independent Palestinian state with geographical integrity within the borders of 1967 with Al-Quds as its capital.

In his subsequent positions, Erdogan took a stronger stance against the crimes of the Israeli regime in Gaza and identified the US as the main culprit of the bloody events and inflammation in the Middle East for several years. He even criticized the presence of the American aircraft carrier in the region. He announced that the US wants to massacre the Palestinian people and start a bloodbath, adding that this has been the long-standing policy of the Americans in the Middle East.

Expressing great concern about further escalation and spread of conflicts in the Middle East, Turkey considers the blockade of Gaza “unacceptable” and has asked the Israeli regime to open the Rafah Corridor to provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Hakan Fidan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, who has recently taken the most positions in his country in Middle East events, believes that the current war may cause more significant wars and bring about a historic peace. He said the dominant powers have lied to themselves and others by creating a special atmosphere for years, and it is time to end this situation. He noted that it is impossible to achieve lasting peace using the old solutions, adding, ‘You occupy someone’s land, confiscate their house, evict them, bring someone and settle there and call them “settlers.” This is called theft. We are doing our utmost to prevent the war from leading to instability in the region’s countries, especially Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan’.

Hakan Fidan condemned the targeting of civilians and said, ‘Israel has abandoned the two-state solution. Israel’s concern is not the Palestinians but the normalization of relations with other Arab countries. Because they have no vision of the Palestinian state, there is no reason to recognize Palestine as a state when other countries recognize it.

He also criticizes Biden’s visit to the region by saying, ‘The recent visit of the US President Joe Biden to occupied Palestine is Washington’s approval to destroy Gaza. Many people are not surprised by this, but it creates a perception that may cause a very different outcome for the United States.’

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey stated more clearly that at the Cairo Arab Peace Summit to support Palestine, ‘Turkey will not allow further insults to the Palestinian people suffering from the constant attacks of the Zionist regime. Determining conditions for aid to enter Gaza violates international laws and humanitarian norms. Turkey believes that the right path of this crisis starts with stopping the violence and providing aid to the Gaza Strip. There should be a mechanism to confirm the commitment of various parties to achieve comprehensive peace. Humanitarian aid should be allowed to enter Gaza as soon as possible. We must revive every effort to return to the two-state peace process based on the 1967 agreement’.

In recent days, Turkey has presented a plan for the Gaza crisis. Ankara proposes that the countries that are guarantors of the Palestinian side should be from the region, and Turkey should be one of those countries. Several other countries should be guarantors for the Israeli regime. After the agreement, the countries that have become guarantors of both parties are responsible for implementing its provisions. Turkey is ready to be the guarantor of the Palestinian side in this process. Turkey presented this proposal in more detail at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting.

Of course, Turkey’s policies regarding the Gaza crisis faced criticism. Davutoğlu, the former prime minister of Turkey and the leader of the “Future” Party, who is now a severe opponent of Erdogan’s policies, supported the operation of Hamas and declared that before, he and Erdogan cried for the Palestinian nation in the same room. But now, he added, he is crying about Erdogan’s current situation. ‘Because his position regarding the developments in Palestine was weak, and history remembered that moment. Some countries, including Turkey, have practically forgotten the issue of Palestine and are interested in establishing relations with Israel. This made the Palestinian side extremely silent, and they practically saw that they were left alone. Some Turkish political parties made a statement and officially announced that we are on the side of Palestine. But unfortunately, the Justice and Development Party led by Erdogan chose passivity, and I am sure that history will not forget this incident.

Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the Nationalist Party of Turkey, also emphasized that if the war and attacks of the Zionist regime against Gaza do not stop. The bombing of Palestinian civilians continues; the government of Ankara should immediately take action and take any necessary measures according to its historical, humanitarian, and religious responsibility because “it is our duty to support Gaza.”

Turkey is the first Islamic country to recognize the fake Israeli regime and has always had political, security, and economic relations with that regime. A group in Turkey believes that the attacks carried out by the Israeli regime in violation of UN resolutions and the expansion of its borders with blood and violence under the name of “settlement” are the same as cruelty and crime.