Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan affirmed that current Israeli policies are not aimed at achieving security, as promoted by the occupation government, but rather primarily seek to seize more Palestinian and Arab lands. Fidan explained during his participation in the fifth edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu uses security concerns as a legitimate cover to implement long-term settlement and expansion plans.
The head of Turkish diplomacy pointed out that this expansionist policy is not limited to the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, but also extends to include ambitions for lands within Lebanon and Syria. He stressed that the continuation of this occupation approach represents a major obstacle to regional stability, calling for its immediate cessation to ensure a lasting peace based on respect for national sovereignty of states and recognition of their official borders.
Fidan considered that Israel's continuous attempts to seize lands pose a direct threat to Turkish national security and a major regional problem that requires international solidarity. He noted that the unlimited support Tel Aviv receives from the United States and some European countries contributes to complicating the political and field landscape, and encourages the occupation authorities to persist in violating international laws without fear of accountability.
In a related context, the Turkish minister criticized the European Union's inability to formulate a unified and firm institutional stance towards Israeli practices, indicating that European power has not been effectively used to curb these activities. However, Fidan believed that there are signs of awakening within the old continent, as some countries have begun to distance themselves from erroneous Israeli policies, especially after the repercussions of the genocide war in the Gaza Strip.
On the regional level, Fidan stated that the countries of the region are going through a new phase of awakening, as they have become more clearly aware that Israel represents a strategic threat to collective security in the Middle East. He affirmed that this increasing awareness requires deeper coordination to confront the challenges posed by the occupation, and to work to protect the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people in their land and independent state.
The Turkish Foreign Minister accused the occupying state of reneging on its international obligations, stressing that it has not fulfilled the requirements of the first phase of the proposed peace plan, especially in aspects related to the humanitarian file. He explained that deliberate Israeli obstruction prevented the arrival of necessary supplies to the besieged population, which exacerbated the humanitarian catastrophe experienced by civilians in the occupied territories.
Fidan concluded his remarks by calling for real international pressure to allow the urgent entry of larger quantities of medical and relief aid into the Gaza Strip. He also stressed the importance of enabling the Palestinian Technical Committee to begin its tasks within the Strip to oversee humanitarian operations, considering that breaking the siege and relieving the Palestinian people are top priorities that cannot be postponed under the current circumstances.
Benjamin Netanyahu uses the issue of security as a pretext to try to seize more land, and the only way to peace is to respect the borders and territorial integrity of states.
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Turkish Foreign Minister: Israel uses 'security' as a pretext to annex lands and expand its occupation