‘Turkey, Israel normalization will not be at cost of Palestine’

The normalization between Turkey and Israel will not be at the cost of the Palestinian issue, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Tuesday.

Speaking to the press, Çavuşoğlu said that steps taken with Israel will not be at the cost of Palestine “as some countries have done.”

“The further normalization of these relations could enhance Turkey’s role in the two-state solution,” he added, and noted that Turkey would have close contact with the two countries.

On Feb. 3, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced an upcoming visit of the Israeli president to Turkey in mid-March.

Ties between Turkey and Israel froze after the death of 10 civilians in an Israeli raid on a Turkish flotilla carrying aid for the Gaza Strip in 2010.

In recent months, however, the two countries have been working on a rapprochement, with Erdoğan, a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, holding telephone talks with his counterpart Isaac Herzog and other Israeli leaders.

Despite the recent rapprochement, Turkish officials continue to criticize Israel’s policies targeting Palestinians, including the illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Known for its unbreakable solidarity with the Palestinians, Turkey has been voicing support for the Palestinian cause in the international realm for decades. Turkish authorities emphasize that the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in the Middle East is through a fair and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue within the framework of international law and United Nations resolutions.