ALBAWABA- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, with the Palestinian cause, regional security and bilateral cooperation topping the agenda.
Abbas welcomed the recent joint defense agreement between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, describing it as a positive step toward strengthening regional security. He said he hoped the agreement would serve as the foundation for a broader framework that promotes security and stability across the region.
The Palestinian president said the two sides also discussed regional developments and ways to deepen Palestinian-Turkish cooperation, stressing the importance of dialogue and greater understanding among countries in the region.
Abbas reiterated that a just and lasting peace requires an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. He also stressed that any arrangements concerning the Gaza Strip must be carried out through the Palestinian state and preserve the unity of its political system and sovereign institutions.
Speaking at a joint press conference, Erdogan reaffirmed Turkey’s support for the Palestinian cause, saying Ankara would continue to defend Palestinian rights in international forums. He said Turkey, in coordination with its Palestinian counterparts, was pursuing efforts based on the two-state solution.
Erdogan sharply criticized the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over what he described as continued illegal practices in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. Citing United Nations figures, he said nearly 3,800 Palestinians had been displaced in 2026 as a result of settler violence, demolitions and forced evictions.
He described the developments as part of a systematic policy aimed at undermining the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state. Erdogan also warned against attempts to alter the status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque and other Islamic and Christian holy sites, calling support for Palestine a shared responsibility, particularly for the Islamic world.
Erdogan further called for the necessary conditions to be established as soon as possible to allow reconstruction in Gaza and ensure security in the territory. He said the Israeli government’s continued policies were undermining efforts to achieve a political settlement despite what he described as the Palestinians’ constructive approach.
The meeting marked Abbas’s second visit to Turkey since the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7, 2023. His previous visit took place in July 2024, shortly before the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. During that visit, Abbas expressed his intention to travel to Gaza to assess the destruction caused by Israel’s military assaults, but the planned visit did not take place.
