ISTANBUL: Gaza&#39;s future must be Palestinian-led and avoid any new system of tutelage, Turkey and six of its top Muslim allies said Monday after talks in Istanbul. Turkey, which played a central role in forging the now shaky three-week-old ceasefire, is pushing for Muslim nations to bring their influence to bear on the reconstruction of the embattled territory. &quot;Our principle is that Palestinians should govern the Palestinians and ensure their own security, the international community should support this in the best possible way -- diplomatically, institutionally and economically,&quot; Turkey&#39;s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said after the talks. &quot;Nobody wants to see a new system of tutelage emerge,&quot; he told a news conference. Brokered by US President Donald Trump, the October 10 ceasefire -- which halted two years of continuous bloodshed -- has been tested by fresh Israeli strikes and claims of Palestinian attacks on Israeli soldiers. The talks involved top diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia. All of them were called to a meeting with Trump in September on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, just days before he unveiled his plan to end the Gaza war. &quot;We&#39;ve now reached an extremely critical stage: we do not want the genocide in Gaza to resume,&quot; Fidan added, saying all seven nations supported plans for the Palestinians to take control of Gaza&#39;s security and governance. Fidan, who held talks at the weekend with a Hamas delegation led by its chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, said the Islamist movement was &quot;ready to hand Gaza to a committee of Palestinians&quot;. He also expressed hope that reconciliation efforts between Hamas and the rival West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, &quot;will bear fruit as soon as possible,&quot; saying inter-Palestinian unity would &quot;strengthen Palestine&#39;s representation in the international community&quot;. Earlier, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Hamas was &quot;determined to adhere to the (truce) agreement&quot; and urged Muslim states to play &quot;a leading role&quot; in Gaza&#39;s recovery. &quot;We believe the reconstruction plan prepared by the Arab League and the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation)should be implemented immediately,&quot; he said of the plan unveiled in March. &#39;Task force needs UN mandate&#39; Turkey has been instrumental in backing Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza. Fidan said it was crucial that the emerging International Stabilisation Force that will monitor the Gaza ceasefire under Trump&#39;s plan, have a &quot;mandate defined by a UN Security Council resolution and a framework for legitimacy&quot;. Washington is currently working with Arab and international partners to decide on the composition of the force, with Turkey hoping to play a role, despite fierce opposition from Israel. &quot;The countries we&#39;ve spoken with say they will decide whether to send troops based on ... the ISF&#39;s mandate and authority,&quot; Fidan said. &quot;First, a general consensus needs to be reached on a draft, then it needs to be approved by the members of the Security Council. &quot;And it needs to be free from vetoes by any of the permanent (UNSC) members,&quot; he said of a blocking move frequently used by key Israel ally Washington. Israel has long viewed Turkey&#39;s diplomatic overtures with suspicion over Ankara&#39;s close ties with Hamas and adamantly opposes it joining the task force that is meant to take over after Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza. A Turkish disaster relief team, sent to help efforts to recover the remains of those trapped under the rubble -- including Israeli hostages seized by Hamas -- has been stuck at the border because of Israel&#39;s refusal to let them in, according to Ankara.

Middle East

"Our principle is that Palestinians should govern the Palestinians and ensure their own security, the international community should support this in the best possible way -- diplomatically, institutionally and economically," Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.

Turkey, Muslim allies say Palestinian self-rule key to Gaza future

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday &ldquo;strongly condemned&rdquo; the latest Israeli attacks in Gaza, terming them a &ldquo;flagrant violation&rdquo; of the Gaza Peace Agreement, and called upon the international community to take immediate and effective measures to halt the aggression. In an official statement, the Foreign Office expressed deep concern over the renewed Israeli airstrikes that have claimed numerous civilian lives in Gaza. &ldquo;Pakistan strongly condemns Israel&rsquo;s violation of the Gaza Peace Agreement and the continued targeting of civilians,&rdquo; the statement said. &ldquo;These actions constitute a serious breach of the understanding reached in Sharm El-Sheikh under the witness of the international community.&rdquo; According to Gaza&rsquo;s Government Media Office, more than 100 Palestinians have been killed and over 230 wounded since the start of the ceasefire. The office accused Israeli forces of breaching the truce more than 80 times through &ldquo;direct gunfire, bombardments, and arrests of civilians.&rdquo; The Israeli military, however, claimed its airstrikes were in response to &ldquo;a blatant violation&rdquo; of the truce following the killing of two Israeli soldiers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset that &ldquo;153 tons of bombs were dropped on Hamas positions last week,&rdquo; insisting the strikes were &ldquo;necessary defensive actions.&rdquo; Hamas denied any breach, slamming Israel for &ldquo;fabricating pretexts&rdquo; to resume hostilities. The exchange of accusations has heightened concerns over the fragile ceasefire, which had allowed thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza to find their homes destroyed. Islamabad and Expatriates of Palestine also denounced what it described as &ldquo;terrorist assaults&rdquo; by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians and international solidarity activists during the olive harvest season in the occupied West Bank. The Pakistan Foreign Office echoed this concern, stating: &ldquo;Such actions run contrary to the spirit of the peace agreement signed in Sharm El-Sheikh in the presence of leadership from the Muslim and Arab world, the United States, Europe, and the United Nations.&rdquo; Islamabad urged the global community to intervene decisively to ensure full implementation of the ceasefire and to prevent further loss of civilian life. &ldquo;Pakistan calls for urgent and effective international measures to end these violations and restore peace,&rdquo; the statement read. &ldquo;Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering support for the Palestinian people and calls for the establishment of an independent, sovereign, viable, and contiguous State of Palestine, based on pre-June 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.&rdquo; In related developments, Qatar&rsquo;s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Tuesday condemned Israel for repeatedly violating the ceasefire in Gaza, calling its recent strikes a &ldquo;flagrant breach&rdquo; of international law and warning that the fragile truce could collapse if such actions continue. Delivering his annual address to the Shura Council, Sheikh Tamim said the humanitarian situation in Gaza had deteriorated despite the US-brokered ceasefire that took effect on October 10. He urged the global community to &ldquo;hold Israel accountable for its actions.&rdquo; &ldquo;We reiterate our condemnation of all Israeli violations and practices in Palestine, particularly the transformation of the Gaza Strip into an area unfit for human life and the continued violation of the ceasefire,&rdquo; the emir said. Qatar, which has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, has been facilitating talks in Doha to prevent renewed hostilities and secure humanitarian access to Gaza. The emir also denounced Israel&rsquo;s &ldquo;genocidal war,&rdquo; its expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, and what he described as attempts to &ldquo;Judaize the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound&rdquo; in East Jerusalem. Referring to an alleged Israeli strike on a Hamas delegation in Doha, Sheikh Tamim said: &ldquo;Israel has violated all international laws and norms governing relations between states by attacking a country that acts as a mediator and by attempting to kill delegation members. We consider this aggression an act of state terrorism.&rdquo;

Islamabad slams Israeli Gaza attacks, urges global action, reaffirms support for Palestine, and calls for an independent state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as capital

Articles tagged with "Israeli attacks"

Turkey, Muslim allies say Palestinian self-rule key to Gaza future

Pakistan condemns Israeli attacks in Gaza, urges urgent global action