Foreign Minister Fidan: If we do not learn from this tragedy, this will not be the last war in Gaza.
Foreign Minister Fidan: If we do not learn from this tragedy, this will not be the last war in Gaza.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said: "We must invite Israel to accept the 1967 borders. All Palestinians, not just Hamas, are ready to accept a Palestinian state founded in 1967."
"If we don't learn from this tragedy (in Gaza), if we don't go for a two-state solution, this won't be the last war in Gaza. New wars and tears await us."
Since October 7, 2023, Turkey has been conducting intensive diplomacy to stop Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Minister Fidan gave an interview to the Saudi-based Al-Arabiya TV channel about Turkey's position in connection with the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip and relations between Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
In an interview, Fidan explained the steps taken by Turkey to ensure a ceasefire and mediation efforts.
Stating that Turkey's priority is to ensure a ceasefire and that they are in close contact with Qatar on this issue, Fidan said: "On the one hand, we are trying to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid, and on the other hand, we are trying to mobilize the international system for a two-state solution, which we consider as strategic and permanent the solution. Apart from these two issues, there are no other serious issues that we are currently dealing with."
Fidan said that during the visit of the head of the Hamas Politburo, Ismail Heniye, to Istanbul and his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the tragedy in Gaza was discussed, and that other rumors should not be trusted, adding: "Under what conditions can a ceasefire be achieved? What is Turkey's position on this issue? An exchange of views took place on this axis."
Expressing his support for the negotiations being conducted by Egypt and Qatar, Fidan said: "Turkey has participated in all mediation and ceasefire efforts since the first Gaza war in 2008-2009. Our president was Prime Minister at that time. At that time, he instructed me to do it. We were involved in the 2008 war, and we were involved in the subsequent wars in Gaza. And now I'm in the thick of it. I am one of those who have always focused on this issue, albeit in different roles."
Explaining that Turkey has a permanent position on this issue, Fidan said:
"Now, the fact that the negotiations between Qatar and Egypt have not yielded any results and do not seem to be yielding any results at the moment does not mean that the negotiating positions of these two countries have failed. Admittedly, this is a difficult question. We must admit that Israel has a position that does not want to negotiate in many ways. At the moment, our brothers are trying to bring the demands of the two sides to a certain point. We are here to provide maximum support to these brothers and Hamas. We express to them our readiness to offer Turkey's positive and constructive contribution to the negotiations."
Foreign Minister Fidan said that the talks are mainly focused around the issue of a ceasefire, adding that this is very important, but they are also looking for an answer to the question of what will happen in Gaza after the ceasefire.
"If we don't learn from this tragedy (in Gaza), if we don't go for a two-state solution, this won't be the last war in Gaza. Other wars and tears will be waiting for us."
Stating that the international community should take measures for a ceasefire and a two-State solution, Fidan continued his words as follows:
"We, as Turkey, have focused our work on these two issues. We have expressed our opinion to Hamas officials on what position they should take, especially with regard to the two-State solution, and what the international community expects from them. In fact, Israel is constantly monitoring Hamas to conceal its own motives. He presents Hamas to the international community as a radical, irrational organization that does not want to negotiate. By doing so, Israel is trying to hide its true purpose and purpose from the public.
Now, first, Israel must say, "I accept the 1967 borders, the borders accepted by the international community." I'm not looking at someone else's land. These borders are my land, and I, as a state, agree to stay within these borders. I am not interested in foreign land, I am not concerned about Palestinian land." But Israel doesn't say that. What does Israel say instead? "I'm doing all this, and I'm standing up to Hamas."
However, when we look at Hamas, when we talk to them about the two-State solution, they clearly say, "We accept the creation of a Palestinian State within the 1967 borders." They say: "That's our whole fight." They even go so far as to say, "As soon as the state is established, we will give our weapons to the Palestinian army and continue to exist only as a political movement."
"All Palestinian parties are ready to accept a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders"
Stating that "we should also invite Israel to accept the 1967 borders," Fidan said: "Not only Hamas, but all Palestinians are satisfied with the Palestinian state that will be established on the basis of 1967. So, does Israel agree to be a state? what will remain within the borders of 1967? That's what's important. But Israel continues to steal land and uses Hamas as an excuse to hide it. "Look at Gaza!" "On the other hand, he continues to steal land in the West Bank. The international community must now wake up and see this hypocrisy!",
Fidan noted that the only issue that Israel is particularly interested in at the moment is the issue of the return of hostages, saying: "This is a humanitarian situation. We are also very sensitive to this issue. Our president is extremely sensitive to the requests he receives regarding hostages. He instructed both us and our intelligence service to carry out the necessary work in this direction. We have contacts with Israel on this issue. We convey to Hamas the requests of the Israelis and even other countries. That is, our contacts continue, especially on the release of hostages."
Recalling that Hamas has demands such as "the start of humanitarian assistance at the same time as the release of hostages and allowing the Palestinians to return to the north," Fidan said that this is also a request from the international community, and that a resolution on this issue was adopted at the United Nations by the votes of more than 150 countries, but "Israel resists such demands".
Fidan said, "Israel says, 'Give me the hostages. I am not giving you any guarantees regarding the ceasefire. And I will decide whether I will carry out an operation on Rafah or not!" Of course, in these conditions it is really difficult to reconcile the demands of the two sides. Despite the fact that we and our brothers and sisters who are negotiating are doing our best in this regard, a solution has not yet been found. But I hope that a solution will be found in the coming period."
Stating that the possibility of the war spreading to other countries in the region and the possibility of other actors participating in the war is an extremely important issue, Fidan stated that he is against the possibility of the war spreading to the countries of the region and Social spread, that is, the social reaction that Islamic societies, angry and no longer able to tolerate the oppression and suffering of the Palestinians, may show in the face of these events. He stated that they attracted attention from the first day.
Fidan said: "In fact, we see that the protests are not limited to Islamic societies and Arab streets, but also spread to universities and capitals in the West, in America. In fact, this is an indicator of social diffusion."
"This (Iranian-Israeli) escalation may also be a harbinger of a big war"
In the context of the regional spread of Israeli attacks, Fidan made the following assessments of Iran's involvement in this business:
"We have already pointed this out in our previous analyses. While efforts were being made to end the ceasefire as soon as possible and prevent the deaths of new people, no one thought about a scenario in which the Houthis from Yemen could intervene and block the Red Sea. But we see that this business has spread to Yemen. On the other hand, the tension between Israel and Iran was what we warned about. (Iran-Israel) This tension may also be a harbinger of a major war. Despite the fact that the situation seems to have calmed down at the moment, this potential is always there. Tensions began on April 1 with the Israeli attack on the embassy in Damascus, which we condemned. It was an event during which international law and traditions were trampled on. Iran has been subjected to a clear provocation. As a result, a response operation was carried out, the region was saved from the brink of a major disaster."
Stating that they have established contact with the parties in the tension between Iran and Israel, Fidan said:
"We have met with both Americans and Iranians. Thus, we sought to prevent a misunderstanding of what both sides want to do and to prevent the implementation of a scenario different from their original intentions. Because if both sides take positions according to the worst-case scenario, we may face a permanent war. This will cause even greater social pain and suffering throughout the region. To prevent this, we have established the necessary contacts with the parties during this crisis."