Muslim countries must act in unity to oppose Israel’s plan to seize control of Gaza City, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday after talks in Egypt.
Regional powers Egypt and Turkey had already condemned the plan on Friday. Ankara described it as a “new phase” in Israel’s “genocidal and expansionist” policy, calling for global action to stop its implementation. Israel has rejected this characterization of its actions in Gaza.
Speaking at a joint press conference in El Alamein with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, after meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Fidan announced that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) had been convened for an emergency meeting.
Fidan accused Israel of pursuing a strategy to force Palestinians off their land through starvation and to permanently occupy Gaza, stating that nations “have no reason left to continue supporting Israel.”
Israel denies intentionally causing famine in Gaza, arguing that Hamas—designated a terrorist organization by the US and EU—could end the war by surrendering.
Abdelatty warned that the situation represents “a very dangerous development, not only for the Palestinian people or neighboring states”, calling Israel’s plans “unacceptable.” He stressed that Egypt and Turkey are in full agreement on Gaza and cited an OIC Ministerial Committee statement condemning the Israeli plan.
The OIC statement called the plan “a dangerous and unacceptable escalation, a flagrant violation of international law, and an attempt to reinforce the illegal occupation”, warning that it would “destroy any chance for peace.”
Mediation teams from Egypt, Qatar, and the United States have been working for months to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The OIC urged world powers and the UN Security Council to “fulfil their legal and humanitarian responsibilities” by taking urgent action to stop Israel’s Gaza City plan and to hold Israel immediately accountable for what it described as violations of international law.
