Turkey has joined a group of Arab League and Western countries in urging the Palestinian militant group Hamas to lay down its arms and relinquish control of Gaza as part of efforts to end the ongoing war in the territory.
The statement was part of a seven-page declaration endorsed on Tuesday by 17 countries, along with the European Union and the Arab League, at a United Nations conference in New York aimed at reviving the long-stalled two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
“In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state,” the declaration said.
The call followed a separate appeal on Monday by the Palestinian delegation at the UN, which urged both Israel and Hamas to withdraw from Gaza, paving the way for the Palestinian Authority to take administrative control of the coastal enclave.
Turkey was represented at the meeting by Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yılmaz.
The joint declaration also condemned the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel that left approximately 1,200 people dead, marking the deadliest assault on Israeli territory in decades. The UN General Assembly has not formally adopted a resolution condemning the attack.
Turkey’s support for the joint call marks a notable shift in tone. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has previously rejected labeling Hamas as a terrorist group, referring to it instead as a legitimate resistance movement.
“Hamas is not a terrorist organization. It is a group of liberators and mujahedeen who are fighting to protect their land and people,” Erdoğan said following the October 7 attack.
France, which co-chaired the conference with Saudi Arabia, called the declaration “both historic and unprecedented.”
“For the first time, Arab countries and those in the Middle East condemn Hamas, condemn October 7, call for the disarmament of Hamas, call for its exclusion from Palestinian governance, and clearly express their intention to normalize relations with Israel in the future,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.
The text, co-signed by France, Britain and Canada among other Western nations, also called for the possible deployment of foreign forces to stabilize Gaza after the end of hostilities.
Israel and its ally the United States did not take part in the meeting.
21 months of war
The document was issued on the second day of the conference in New York at which Britain announced it may recognize a Palestinian state in September.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said London would proceed with recognition if Israel did not fulfil conditions including implementing a ceasefire in Gaza and allowing in sufficient aid.
French President Emmanuel Macron last week said he would formally announce France’s recognition of Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly in September.
For decades, most of the global body’s members have supported a two-state solution with Israel and a Palestinian state existing side-by-side.
But after more than 21 months of war in Gaza, the ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and Israeli officials declaring designs to annex occupied territory, it is feared a Palestinian state could become geographically impossible.
The current war in Gaza started after the Hamas attacks on Israel in 2023.
Israel responded with large-scale military action that has claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives and destroyed most infrastructure in the enclave.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the meeting Monday that “the two-state solution is farther than ever before.”
In a statement issued late Tuesday, 15 Western nations including France and Spain, affirmed their “unwavering support to the vision of the two-state solution.”
Among the signatories, nine that have not yet recognized a Palestinian state expressed “willingness or positive consideration of their countries” to do so: Andorra, Australia, Canada, Finland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Portugal and San Marino.
According to the health ministry in Gaza, the Israeli military has killed at least 60,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 142,000 since October 7, 2023.
Two prominent human rights organizations in Israel on Monday joined a number of international rights organizations, UN human rights experts and scholars in accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel released separate reports on Monday based on studies of the past 21 months of conflict, saying Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and that the country’s Western allies have a legal and moral duty to stop it.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is also examining a case brought by South Africa alleging that Israeli forces are committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.
© Agence France-Presse with Turkish Minute