Erdogan criticises nations for Israel support during Abbas meeting

Mr Abbas will also address Turkey's parliament in 'symbolic' show of Turkish support for the Palestinian cause

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ankara, Turkey. Reuters

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Mahmoud Abbas met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday evening, as the Palestinian leader looks to shore up regional support amid widespread fallout from the war in Gaza.

In the meeting, Mr Erdogan criticised some western nations for supporting Israel – part of a wider political stance in which he has distanced Turkey from European nations and the US over the Gaza war.

"President Erdogan said that Israel continues to massacre civilians, including babies, displace innocent Palestinians, strike schools, hospitals and civilian refuges, and condemn people to hunger and thirst, and that it is unacceptable for some western countries to remain silent about all this and continue to help Israel," a statement released after their meeting said.

"President Erdogan stated that all countries, especially the Islamic world, should increase their efforts to ensure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and to ensure uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians."

Mr Abbas used the meeting to again call for an immediate ceasefire, full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and an end to all Israeli attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and encroachments on holy sites in the city, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Accompanying Mr Abbas in Turkey are senior officials from the Palestine Liberation Organisation, the Palestinian Authority's head of intelligence Majed Faraj, and presidential advisers, Wafa reported.

On Thursday, Mr Abbas will tell Turkish politicians about Israel's attacks on Palestinian territories, particularly in Gaza, Turkish state media reported.

Turkey’s parliament is on summer break but will hold an extraordinary session to host the Palestinian leader, the Turkish government said.

Mr Abbas’s address will be translated into English, Turkish and French, and will be attended by Mr Erdogan.

Some social media users in Turkey criticised the country's leadership for hosting Mr Abbas, accusing him of complicity in Israeli violence.

The hashtag, "We do not want the traitor Abbas" trended on X in Turkey and there were calls for protests against his address to the parliament, although it was not clear if any demonstrations were planned.

The users expressed solidarity with Hamas, with whom Mr Abbas's Fatah movement is a rival.

Mr Abbas’s visit to Turkey follows a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Russia on Tuesday, in which the Russian President said he was watching violence in the Palestinian territories unfold “with great pain”.

Turkey has thrown its weight behind Palestinians since the October 7 attacks, while officially supporting a two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and maintaining diplomatic relations with Israel.

While Ankara has been overshadowed by the US, Egypt and Qatar in mediation attempts, it has banned trade with Israel and officials have grown increasingly critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Mr Erdogan has praised Hamas militants as “freedom fighters” and Ankara has distanced itself from western governments’ positions on the Gaza war.

Instagram was temporarily banned in Turkey this month over some officials’ frustration at the social media platform for blocking posts commemorating the assassinated political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh.

He had close ties with Turkey, especially Mr Erdogan, who leads the AKP party.

But there was no love lost between Mr Haniyeh and Mr Abbas. Hamas is a rival of Fatah, the Palestinian political faction chaired by the Palestinian President.

Mr Abbas has also visited Turkey often, most recently in March this year. Ankara had tried to mediate between the rival Palestinian factions although the groups eventually signed a declaration in China to form a future government together.

Yunus Emre, a Turkish MP for the main opposition party who will attend Mr Abbas’s address on Thursday, said it will be an important act of solidarity with Palestinians but probably will not lead to any major developments on ending the continuing conflict.

“This address will be very important, but from my perspective it will not give important results,” Mr Emre, a member of the Turkish parliament’s foreign relations committee, told The National.

“It is symbolic, and shows solidarity of Turkey with the Palestinian people in these very hard circumstances.”

Turkey’s opposition has criticised the close ties between Hamas and Mr Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, and Mr Emre said Mr Abbas's address would demonstrate the diversity of views among Palestinian representatives.

“[The AKP’s] solidarity with Hamas is a political issue – our perceptive is different,” Mr Emre said.

“From our point of view, the Palestinian question had a number of humanitarian questions. So many innocent people have been killed by Israeli attacks – this is a significant issue for our party, and our voters.”

MPs from the AKP did not respond to requests for comment.