Ankara, 8 November 2023 (TDI): Foreign Minister of Turkey, Hakan Fidan, will land in the US capital of Washington, DC on Friday to hold joint diplomatic meetings focused on Gaza, according to a statement released by the Foreign Ministry.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Foreign Ministry said, “The Extraordinary Joint Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Arab League, which was held on 11 November 2023, mandated the Foreign Ministers of Türkiye, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and Nigeria to take international action to stop the war in Gaza and achieve lasting peace.”
Moreover, the group has held meetings in the past three weeks in Moscow, Beijing, London, Barcelona, Paris, and New York. The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, also participated in the meetings.
This visit is part of a larger initiative that involves a contact group of Muslim countries that was established at a joint summit between the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League last month.
In its talks so far, the delegation gave the message of starting a solution process — that will be carried out through UN parameters — for a permanent and fair peace after the cease-fire in Gaza.
Furthermore, the group also called for the creation of an independent Palestinian state with its capital as East Jerusalem, on the basis of 1967 borders.
Also Read: Palestine Ministry welcomes UN Secretary’s initiative for Gaza
After a week-long humanitarian pause with Hamas, Israel began again its military assault on the Gaza Strip on December 1.
According to the reports, at least 17,177 Palestinians have been killed and more than 46,000 have been injured in Israel’s relentless air and ground attacks on the enclave following a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7.
The death toll in Israel following the Hamas attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.
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