Third parties shouldn't bring their own conflicts into Middle East: Türkiye

Türkiye and other countries of the Middle East do not want outside nations to bring their own conflicts into the region, the Turkish foreign minister has exclaimed amidst fears of an escalation following Iran's drone and missile attack against Israel.

"We have been reiterating Israel's moves would cause a regional war. Last week showed such a risk is still here to stay," Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday during a press conference alongside his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha.

"We, as countries of the region, don't want third parties to bring their own conflicts to this geography," he stressed.

Fidan emphasised that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been trying to drag the region into a war to "ensure his grasp on power," all the while receiving unconditional backing from Western nations.

The top diplomat, who recently held talks with the chairperson of Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniya in Qatar, reiterated that Türkiye is "striving to realise a two-state solution" through diplomacy.

"Hamas officials told me they will abolish the armed wing and continue as a political party when a Palestinian state is established," Fidan said.

Hamas, a resistance movement

He also criticised "Israeli propaganda" for portraying Hamas as a terrorist organisation "like Daesh, rather than a national resistance movement.”

According to Fidan, this portrayal of Hamas finds favour with "some actors in the West and international public opinion."

He called on countries "with influence over Israel," particularly the US, to unite and urge Israel to stop its actions.

Fidan also addressed ongoing discussions with his Qatari counterpart about further collaborative efforts to address the plight of the Palestinian people.

He pointed out that Türkiye and Qatar in particular are in constant coordination both through the Contact Group established within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and bilateral meetings.

"Türkiye and Qatar are two of the rare countries that have a healthy relationship with Hamas. Therefore, we are working with all our might to do whatever we can, especially in the ceasefire negotiations that are currently being conducted. In particular, we have regular consultations on what kind of support we can give to the efforts made by our Qatari brothers with our Egyptian brothers."

Fidan said that representatives of Western and other world public opinion in particular contacted Türkiye most of the time.

Fidan also pointed out that there is also serious coordination between Türkiye and Qatar on humanitarian aid and said that they exchanged strategic views.

'Türkiye's role is crucial'

For his part, Al Thani said Qatar has been conducting diplomacy for Gaza, and emphasised that "Türkiye's role in solving the crisis is crucial."

Gaza has been suffering from Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023, when Hamas killed over 1,200 Israelis during a cross-border incursion.

The subsequent Israeli attacks have so far killed over 34,000 Palestinians and injured almost 77,000 others.

Israel’s war on Palestine's Gaza has pushed 85 percent of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while over 60 percent of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.​​​​​​​

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.