DAYS OF PALESTINE – Turkey will not turn its back on its commitment to a Palestinian state in order to broker closer ties with Israel, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday, ahead of an expected visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog next month.

The two countries expelled their ambassadors in 2018 after a bitter falling-out and relations have remained tense but Ankara has taken steps to mend strained regional ties, including with Israel.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Herzog would visit Turkey in mid-March, the first such trip in years, adding the two countries could discuss energy cooperation. Herzog has yet to confirm the visit.

Ankara has condemned Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and its policy towards Palestinians, while Israel has called on Turkey to drop support for the militant Palestinian group Hamas which runs Gaza.

“Any step we take with Israel regarding our relations, any normalization, will not be at the expense of the Palestinian cause, like some other countries,” Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara, referring to the rapprochement between Israel and some Gulf countries that has angered Turkey.

Gulf states that have established ties with Israel have sought to reassure the Palestinians that their countries are not abandoning the quest for statehood, despite Palestinians having decried the deals as a betrayal of their cause.

___________________________________________________

Source: REUTERS