Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan called for an international peace conference to address the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Speaking at a joint Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh, Erdogan urged Israel to cease hostilities in Gaza. He accused Israel of targeting innocent civilians, particularly women and children, and insisted on an immediate and lasting ceasefire.
During the summit, Erdogan held bilateral talks with leaders such as Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. He expressed Turkey’s willingness to collaborate in providing humanitarian aid and healthcare services to Gaza.
Turkey has intensified its criticism of Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens. Unlike the United States, Britain, and some other Western countries, Turkey does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization and hosts its members. Erdogan argued that Hamas, as a resistance group defending their homeland, should not be equated with the occupying force.
Erdogan emphasized that a permanent resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. He proposed that an international peace conference would provide the most suitable platform for achieving this goal. Turkey is prepared to contribute as a guarantor to maintain the peace that would be established through this conference.
Erdogan also called for an international investigation into the remarks made by Israel’s Heritage Minister Amihay Eliyahu, who suggested the possibility of Israel carrying out a nuclear strike on Gaza. Erdogan argued that these comments unveiled Israel’s possession of nuclear weapons. He demanded that any concealed nuclear bombs be exposed, in addition to those that have not undergone scrutiny by the International Atomic Energy Agency. While Israel does not publicly acknowledge its nuclear arsenal, it is estimated to possess around 90 nuclear warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
In response to Eliyahu’s remarks, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspended him from cabinet meetings indefinitely.
