PALESTINIANS APPRECIATE ERDOGAN'S UNITY EFFORTS

Gaza, 10 Rajab 1434/20 May 2013 (MINA) – Hamas Speaker Salah Bardawil said they welcomed Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statements about reaching national understanding and unity in Palestine.

“We appreciate Erdogan’s efforts for unification of Palestinians. Turkey’s condition of ending the siege on Gaza for normalizing the relations with Israel is a very noble behavior,” Bardawil told Anadolu Agency on Sunday (19/5) as monitored by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).

Bardawil added that Gazans had a special sympathy towards Erdogan and expressed hope Erdogan’s Gaza visit would succeed in ending the siege, preventing Israeli attacks and stopping “jewishization” of Jerusalem.

On the other hand, Speaker of Fatah Diyab Loah said they wished Erdogan’s visit would witness unification of Palestine.

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An independent parliamentarian Jamal Hadri also said that Erdogan’s speech in Washington regarding the unity of Palestine was critical, widening horizons for ending the occupation.

Erdogan had said that unification of Hamas and Fatah was an immediate must for Israeli-Palestinian peace, within the scope of his Washington meetings.

According to Press TV news, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he will ‘most probably’ visit the Israeli besieged Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank in June despite opposition from the United States.

“According to my plan, most probably I would be visiting Gaza in June,” Erdogan said during a joint press conference with US President Barack Obama in Washington on Thursday.

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“But it will not be a visit only to Gaza. I will also go to the West Bank,” the Turkish premier added.

Erdogan further said he places a lot of significance on this visit in terms of peace in the Middle East, expressing hope that the trip would contribute to unity in Palestine.

The United States had earlier called on the Turkish prime minister to put off any visit to Gaza, describing such a trip as a “distraction” from efforts to revive the peace process in the region.

During his trip to Turkey last month, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Erdogan’s visit to Gaza would be “better delayed” and urged him to wait for the “right circumstances.”

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However, Erdogan stated, “We wish he [Kerry] had not said that.” Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc also said that it was up to Ankara to decide what to do.

The Turkish premier has said his visit would be aimed at pushing for an end to the siege imposed by the Israeli regime on Gaza. (T/P03/P04)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)