Panel “Middle East Peace Process in the New International Setting: Palestinian and Turkish Perspectives”

3 minute reading time

The event entitled "Middle East Peace Process in New International Setting: Palestinian and Turkish Perspectives" was organized at the TEPAV Conference Hall on 28 March 2017. Diplomatic mission representatives in Ankara as well as a great number of academicians and students attended the event. The Palestinian Assistant Minister on European Affairs Amal A. Jadou and Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Turkey Ahmet Yıldız were present at the panel as speakers. The panel was moderated by Nilgün Arısan Eralp, Director of Center for European Union Studies at TEPAV.

Stating that the attempts to solve the Palestinian problem failed, Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yıldız signified that the biggest obstacle before the solution is the incompatible attitude of Israel and that the Israeli politicians have the understanding that the Israeli interests are more important and superior in the region. Yıldız pointed out that the Palestinian problem has two main points, one is the injustice of the international community against the Palestinian people and the other one is the heroic resistance of the Palestinian people. Saying that the Palestinian people have embraced a just cause against the injustice of the international community, Yıldız stressed that many conferences organized to bring about a solution have failed until now. Yıldız found it pretty positive that in recent years, the international community, and especially the United States, regarded the "two-state solution" as the solution, and said that the given solution which constitutes the basis of the UN Resolution reflects the Turkish position. Yıldız stated that Turkey has made and will continue to make significant efforts in the context of donor conferences for the Palestinian cause and of the relations with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, and Israel.

The Palestinian Assistant Minister on European Affairs Amal Jadou stated that the developments taking place in recent years in Jerusalem have raised special concerns and Israeli policies in and around Jerusalem and Masjid al-Aqsa are very alarming. Asserting that Israel has been trying to create new rights for the Jewish community by changing the status quo, Jadou has stated that there have been some authorities in Israel, including the members of the Israeli Parliament Knesset, who want to destroy Masjid Al-Aqsa and replace it with a synagogue.

Stressing that Jerusalem is a capital in sacred, cultural and social senses, and is of great importance for the Palestinian people, Jadou said that a solution without Jerusalem would not be satisfactory for the Palestinians. He pointed out that more than 650,000 settlers in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel stand as an obstacle before the two-state solution and the Israeli settlers establish settlements in these territories for economic, political and religious reasons. He also stressed that resolving the dispute between Palestine and Israel would have an impact on the settlement of other regional conflicts and ensuring regional stability as well. Expressing his gratitude to Turkey and the Turkish people for their support for Palestine, Jadou asserted that Masjid al-Aqsa belongs not only to Palestinians but to all Muslims all over the world.