Establishment of independent, sovereign and geographically integrated State of Palestine based on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital is 'essential,' says Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said that Israel must end its occupation of Palestinian lands and compensate for the damage it has caused.
"At the core of the problem is Israel's insistence on its policy of occupation, invasion and massacre. Just like in the previous ones, we saw that Israel did not keep its promises in the latest ceasefire agreement," Erdogan said at a joint news conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during his visit to Malaysia.
The establishment of an independent, sovereign and geographically integrated State of Palestine based on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital is "essential," he said, stressing that Türkiye and Malaysia will continue their efforts on this issue.
Erdogan also expressed Ankara's appreciation for Malaysia's stance on Gaza and Palestine.
On aid to Gaza, the Turkish president said he believes "we can handle this" if all ASEAN members join hands.
Erdogan also underlined that Türkiye has sent over 100 ships of in-kind aid to Palestine so far and that these efforts continue.
For his part, Anwar said that Türkiye has shown leadership on the Gaza issue, and that no other country he has known of has done as much as Türkiye did on humanitarian aid.
He said they would mobilize the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the reconstruction of Gaza under Malaysia's rotating presidency.
On the Gaza ceasefire, Anwar said that Israel's “aggressive and expansionist” policies continue, and questioned chances for progress as Israel has not withdrawn from the Palestinian enclave.
A three-phase ceasefire has been in effect in Gaza since Jan. 19, pausing Israel's assault that has killed over 48,000 people and devastated the region.
In the first phase, lasting until early March, 33 Israeli hostages are set to be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, with the sixth swap planned this week under the deal.
However, resistance group Hamas said Monday that the release of Israeli hostages scheduled for Saturday was postponed until further notice due to Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes in Gaza.
- 'Win-win approach'
On trade relations between Türkiye and Malaysia, Erdogan said that they have decided to increase the bilateral trade volume to $10 billion from the current level of about $5 billion.
Emphasizing that they will continue to advance Türkiye-Malaysia relations in the upcoming period by establishing a high-level strategic cooperation council in line with the spirit of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, Erdogan said that they discussed steps that will strengthen bilateral relations.
He said they have signed 11 agreements in various fields and that a joint statement demonstrating "our will" has also been approved.
"As Türkiye and Malaysia, we are in consensus on increasing the mobility and diversity in the fields of trade and investment with a win-win approach," the Turkish president added.
Erdogan said that they will continue the momentum they have gained in the field of defense industry in projects that envisage technology transfer and joint production.
Noting that companies are ready to share their experiences and products with Malaysia for the benefit of both countries, he said: "In the meetings we have just concluded, we have also thoroughly discussed our relations in various areas such as industry and technology, energy, tourism, culture and education and evaluated concrete cooperation opportunities.
"We confirmed our common will to encourage initiatives in the field of tourism. We welcome Malaysia's increasing interest in our country and want to host more of our brothers and sisters in Türkiye."
Erdogan also said that they have reached a consensus to establish a joint committee between the Council of Higher Education and the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia as soon as possible.
