In a press conference held after his meeting with Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Tanja Fajon, Hakan Fidan addressed the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.
Speaking at Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, the Turkish Foreign Minister strongly condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, accusing the country of committing genocide.
“Israel is perpetrating genocide in Gaza, systematically starving and depriving the people in the region of water.”
Hakan Fidan
Fidan further criticized Israel for its attacks on civilian infrastructure, saying, “By bombing hospitals, schools, mosques, and churches, Israel is trampling on all humanitarian values.”
He warned that the policies of the Netanyahu government were dangerously provocative.
He also expressed disappointment in the international community’s response to the situation.
Minister Fidan highlighting the spread of violence to other areas, saying, “Unfortunately, Israel has carried the systematic brutality practiced in Gaza to the West Bank.”
“Israel is not only committing genocide in Gaza, but it is now extending this war to the West Bank, Lebanon, and potentially other nations it deems as enemies which we cannot know or predict.”
Hakan Fidan
Fidan said at the joint press conference with his Slovenian counterpart in Ljubljana that Israel has been carrying out occupation, oppression, cruelty, and massacre in the region and called on the international community to stop Israeli crimes being committed in the Palestinian territories.
“The Netanyahu government continues to play with fire,” he said.
“It is endangering the future of the entire region to maintain its position. Everyone who remains silent on the Gaza issue, especially those who support Israel unconditionally, is under a burden. Israel’s barbarity must finally come to an end.”
Hakan Fidan
The Minister also called on the international community to use all available diplomatic pressure mechanisms to stop the war.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said that it had wrapped up a month-long operation in southern and central Gaza that it said killed more than 250 Palestinian fighters.
“The troops of the 98th Division have completed their divisional operation in the Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah area, after about a month of simultaneous above and underground operational activity,” a military statement said.
“As part of the operation, the troops eliminated over 250 terrorists and destroyed dozens of (pieces of) terrorist infrastructure,” it added.
A military spokesperson confirmed to a news agency that no other operations were taking place in those two areas for now.
Residents of Khan Younis said they had returned to scenes of widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip’s main southern city.
Fidan Says War In Ukraine May Escalate
Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan was reported as saying during his visit to Slovenia that the conflict in Ukraine may escalate into a war involving the use of nuclear weapons.
“Unfortunately, a war in the heart of Europe between Russia and Ukraine is in its third year. It risks escalating into a war involving the use of nuclear weapons,” he pointed out.
Fidan also stressed that Turkey called for an early ceasefire and the launch of talks on a peaceful solution to the conflict.
According to the Turkish Foreign Minister, it’s difficult to predict all the risks that the Ukrainian conflict carries.
“There is nothing more humane than the demand to stop the war. This requires talks. Negotiations are also needed to prevent our region from being further devastated by war.”
Hakan Fidan
He said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintained contact with his counterparts in Russia and Ukraine; Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, putting forward proposals that could help resolve the conflict.
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