The foreign ministers of Muslim countries will meet in Istanbul on Monday to discuss the and next steps in the Palestinian enclave, the foreign minister announced, expressing concern about whether the ceasefire will continue.
Speaking at a press conference in Ankara, Fidan stressed that the meeting will be attended by the foreign ministers of the countries represented at the meeting on the situation in Gaza with US President Donald Trump in New York on September 23. That meeting was attended by Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia.
According to a representative of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in addition to Fidan, the foreign ministers from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are expected to attend Monday’s meeting, although their participation has not yet been confirmed.
“The issues being discussed at the moment are how to proceed to the second stage, the stabilizing force,” said the Turkish Foreign Minister.
“A peace plan has emerged that offers a ray of hope to everyone,” he stressed at a joint press conference with his Estonian counterpart Margus Tsakna.
As Fidan said, he believes that the following issues can be discussed on Monday regarding the implementation of the peace plan: “What are the obstacles to its implementation? What challenges must be overcome? What are the next steps? What will we discuss with our western friends? And what support is there for ongoing talks with the US?”
“Attack” on Netanyahu
The Turkish minister accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “looking for a pretext to violate the cease-fire (in Gaza) and restart the genocide in front of the eyes of the whole world.”
Turkey has sent a team of 81 rescuers to help search for buried bodies, including those of Israeli hostages, but the team remains stranded with its equipment in Rafah awaiting permission from Israel to enter Gaza. “Our diplomacy is working intensively” and “our military is also discussing its possible contribution to an international force” to monitor the ceasefire, Fidan said.
But Netanyahu last week signaled his opposition to any role for Turkish security forces in the Gaza Strip as part of a mission to monitor the US-backed truce reached by Israel and Hamas.
