Turkey’s Erdogan on plan for Gaza after war: No buffer zone, please

Turkey rejects plans to establish a post-war buffer zone in Gaza because it would be disrespectful to Palestinians, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after it was reported that Israel had conveyed plans for the buffer zone to several Arab states including Turkey. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Gaza’s governance and future after the war would be decided by Palestinians alone and not by anyone else.

“I consider even the debating of this (buffer-zone) plan as disrespectful to my Palestinian siblings. For us, this is not a plan that can be debated, considered, or discussed,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said as per news agency Reuters.

Calling for Israel to hand back territories it occupies and end settlements in those territories, the Turkish president said, “Israel must remove the terrorists – which it markets to the world as settlers – from those houses and those lands, and think about how it can build a peaceful future with Palestinians.”

This comes after Turkey sharply criticised Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as Ankara reiterated support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Turkey also hosted some members of the Hamas as unlike most of its NATO allies and some Arab states, it does not view Hamas as a terrorist group.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Israel had become “the West’s spoiled child” and blamed Western support for Israel for the situation in Gaza. On reports of Israeli officials wanting to hunt down Hamas members in other countries, he said carrying out such a operation in Turkey would have “very serious” consequences.

“In the event they carry out such a mistake, they should know that they will pay the price for this very, very heavily,” he said.