Gul Makes History at Palestinian Parliament
Gul said Turkish people feel pain in their hearts whenever Palestinian people suffer and vowed: "We will continue to strongly support the Palestine cause." In a meeting with Gul, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nebil Shaat said that they will always welcome Turkey to play a role in developing sustainable peace in the Middle East. Shaat invited Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit his country as well. Gul also met with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Quray and became the first foreign minister to speak at the Palestinian Legislation Assembly. Gul also met with Mahmoud Abbas, the leading candidate of the Palestinian elections to be held on Sunday, and laid a wreath at the mausoleum of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at his Muqaata compound in Ramallah. Within the scope of Gul’s meetings, a declaration of interest was signed on cultural cooperation between Turkey and the Palestinian Administration.
Gul and Shaat held a joint news conference in Ramallah where Shaat said Turkey was the first country to recognize the Palestinian State since it was founded and said: "Relations between Palestine and Turkey have always been strong and will remain so." Shaat thanked Turkey for its support of Palestine in international meetings. Shaat also described the cultural agreement with Turkey and noted that Palestine received economic support from Turkey during the negotiations. When asked what Turkey can do for the Palestinian people, Shaat replied that Turkey could play a key role in helping the Palestinian people by maintaining good relations with the Organization for Islamic Conference, the European Union (EU), and Israel. The Palestinian Foreign Minister also expressed his belief that Ankara will use its influence in the region to help the Palestinian cause and said that Turkey, which has representatives in the international power in Al-Halil, wants to have roles in other cities, as well.
Gul told the Palestinians about his meetings in Israel and noted that they visited the region with a large delegation including Turkey’s Palestine special coordinator Vehbi Dincerler, representatives from the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA), and some parliamentarians. He concluded: "I do not need to discuss a Turkish-Palestinian friendship. The relations between our governments are already more than warm. They are part of a history of relations that exists in the hearts of both societies and they will continue unchanged."
