Turkey’s National Security Council (MGK) on Wednesday called condemned what it called Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land while urging the international community to fulfil its responsibility in finding a just and permanent solution to the conflict.
Chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, a string of issues including foreign policy, terrorism, and regional developments were discussed during the five-hour meeting attended by senior officials, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
“The council strongly condemned Israel’s illegal occupation targeting Palestine and its inhumane actions,’’ the statement issued by the council said.
Turkey last month said the country was prepared to take whatever action was necessary over Israel’s attacks on Palestine after 289 Palestinians were killed, including over 60 children, and 1,900 wounded in Israel’s 11-day bombardment of the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
The conflict saw 12 Israelis, including two children, killed by Hamas-fired rockets, according to Israeli authorities, with over 500 injured.
The council also stressed that military operations along the country’s southern border would continue in a bid to “neutralize’’ terror groups and to ensure uninterrupted safety, Anadolu said.
Turkey regularly launches operations against Kurdish forces in northern Iraq targeting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group designated as a terrorist organisation by Ankara that has led a four-decade insurgency for Kurdish self-rule in Turkey.
Thc council also said that Turkey would continue to uphold its “right to self-defence”in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas, where the country is locked in disputes with both Greece and Cyprus over territorial waters.
Ahval