Turkey: Israel Not Moving Toward Peace, Washington Must Apply Real Pressure

Turkey has called on the United States to exert real pressure on Israel to implement the Gaza peace plan, asserting that Israeli moves do not reflect a trend toward a settlement. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty in El Alamein that Netanyahu shows no interest in the plan, and demanded that Washington apply genuine pressure to deter Israel from efforts to displace Palestinians.

Turkey has urged the United States to apply genuine pressure on Israel to push it toward implementing the peace plan for the Gaza Strip, asserting that current Israeli moves do not reflect an intention to complete the settlement process. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, speaking at a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty in the city of El Alamein on Thursday, said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shows a lack of interest in the peace plan at every stage. Fidan added that this comes despite mediation efforts and positive steps shown by Palestinian factions, noting that Israel continues to take negative steps instead of moving toward peace. The Turkish minister called on the US administration to exert real pressure on Israel to deter it from what he described as efforts to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, urging more serious measures to ensure the implementation of the agreed phases of the peace plan. Fidan stressed that Gaza's future is not only linked to Middle East stability, but developments in the Strip will have repercussions on global stability, while praising Egypt's role and the efforts made by Cairo to advance the peace process.