Distinguished
Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is truly a pleasure for me to be here among such distinguished
guests, scholars and students.

I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to
Tsinghua University for organizing this important discussion panel.

I also extend my heartful greetings to the
distinguished participants in the panel.

Before answering the specific questions that you have
highlighted, I would like to make some general comments about the situation in
Gaza.

First of all, we all need to understand that the war
in Gaza is not a mere geopolitical issue; it is a dire human tragedy.

The innocent civilian
population of Gaza are continuing to be subject to the indiscriminate attacks
of Israel.

Since the 7 October, the civilian death toll in Gaza has
reached almost 40 thousand, mostly women and children.

Thousands of people have been displaced.

What
is happening in Gaza for the last 9 months is no different than a massacre or even
genocide.

This is not only my understanding. This was also
stipulated in the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)which
called Israel to take action against acts of genocide; as well as in the arrest
warrants of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes and
crimes against humanity.

Years long Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory
has resulted in mass displacement, ethnic cleansing and war.

It is now the humanitarian duty of the international
community to stand side by side with Gaza against this cruelty, oppression, annexation
and illegal settlements.

Because Gaza needs hope, support and action more than
ever.

1.What Are the Immediate and Long-term Impacts of the
Gaza Crisis on the Region’s Security Order?

Going
back to your first question, I can say that:

Surely the war in Gaza bears the risk of a regional
spillover.

The spillover risk is not regional but can also be
global.

What we are witnessing in the Red Sea is an evident
example of this, disrupting global trade and economic activities.

On the other hand, another immediate affect is the
high number of refugee flows to the neighboring countries.

This certainly brings great economic and social
strains for neighboring states.

Regarding
the Long-term Impacts:

The ineffectiveness of international community to
prevent ongoing cruelty in Gaza undermines international norms and laws.

It is weakening the trust towards global institutions
tasked with conflict resolution and peacekeeping.

The unconditional support that some countries are
providing to Israel’s brutality perpetuates a cycle of violence.

It makes future peace efforts even more challenging by
deepening animosities and mistrust between Israelis and Palestinians.

Under these conditions, there is a potential risk for the
Gaza crisis to evolve into a full-scale war spreading to the entire region.

The international community must do all it can to not allow geographical
escalation or spillover.

Unless Israeli attacks towards Gaza don’t stop immediately, we all can
find ourselves in a nightmare scenario in which there will be no winner.

1. Why Efforts to Secure a Ceasefire and Prevent a
   Humanitarian Catastrophe Failed:

The international system in its current form is
insufficient to provide and to effectively solve the ongoing crises.

There is a critical need for immediate and coordinated
international action.

Reaching a ceasefire and providing sustainable flow of
humanitarian aid should be our immediate priority.

Since the beginning of the conflict, Türkiye has been
at the forefront in sending humanitarian aid.

Until now, Türkiye has dispatched nearly 54 thousand
tons of aid to Gaza.

Additionally, as of May 2024 Türkiye halted all trade
activities with Israel, with a view to exert pressure on Israel to stop its
violence against Palestinians.

The international community must exert concerted pressure
on Israel and continue providing humanitarian aid to Palestine.

We firmly believe that if the international community joins hands and
minds together, we can achieve a lasting settlement based on two-state vision,
with Israel and Palestine living in security and pre-1967 borders with East
Jerusalem as the capital of an independent, sovereign State of Palestine.

In this sense we are pleased to see that we share similar approaches
with China as to the resolution of the conflict.

We appreciate China in its efforts for dialogue, such as the recent
talks with Hamas and Al Fatah in Beijing and the visits of the Special Envoy of
the People's Republic of China on the Middle East Issue Ambassador Zhai Jun to
the countries of the region, including Türkiye, where he was also received by
our Foreign Minister H.E. Hakan Fidan.

3.What Are the Root Causes of the Current Tragedy?

The Israel-Palestine
issue is not new.

The Palestinian people
have been subject to Israeli occupation since 56 years.

For decades, they have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements
and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and
their homes demolished.

While the UN partition plan of 1947 originally proposed
separate Jewish and Arab states, Palestinians were forcefully displaced from
their lands as early as 1948.

The 1967 Six-Day War led to the occupation of the West
Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem by Israel.

Israel continues to use Hamas as an excuse to
completely destroy the Palestinian Resistance Movement and to legitimize and
institutionalize its occupation and isolation policy it has been applying for
years.

The root cause of the conflict is occupation, forced
displacements and brutal attacks of Israel which are all severe violations of
the UN Security Council Resolutions as well as International Humanitarian Law.

Therefore, instead of blaming the Palestinian people, the international
community should focus on removing the underlying reasons of this conflict and
bringing it to a lasting and peaceful solution.

4.How to Achieve a Just and Final Resolution of the
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?

The previous attempts for reaching a lasting settlement on the
Israeli-Palestinian issue have ended in failure.

This was mainly due to lack of commitment, particularly from the Israeli
side.

This is why Türkiye has recently entertained the idea of a guarantee
mechanism for a feasible and lasting solution to the conflict.

If the parties, Israelis and Palestinians, know beforehand that whatever
they agree will hold and be implemented, they would be more encouraged to
engage in negotiations with good faith and trust.

We must abide by the core principles for a lasting
peace settlement.

These are the two-state solution based on pre-1967
borders and recognition of East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

It is therefore important for the international
community to make binding commitments to support Palestine in this regard.

For both sides to negotiate on an equal footing, Palestine should be given the status it deserves in the international
community.

We therefore welcomed the announcements by Ireland,
Norway, Spain and most recently Armenia to recognize the State of Palestine.

We hope that more countries will act in this
direction.

If the ongoing massacre continues as it is and the
international system does nothing about it, we will be faced with a reality
where major fault ruptures and their subsequent effects will be much beyond
people's expectations.

5.How to
Establish a New Order for Regional Peace and Prosperity Throughout the Entire
Region?

Türkiye has an unwavering commitment to supporting
peace, stability and security in the Middle East through diplomatic, economic
and humanitarian efforts.

Dialogue and cooperation between the countries of the
region is of great importance for the establishment and strengthening the peace
and stability in the region.

To reach these goals, it is essential that all the
countries in the region;

-Uphold the sovereignty and territorial integrity

-Encourage non-interference in the internal affairs of
states.

-Develop a collective security framework to address
common threats and challenges and

-Create robust regional institutions to oversee
political, economic, and security cooperation.

Yet, the most pressing task for lasting peace in the
Middle East lies in finding a solution for the Palestine issue.

As I mentioned before, it is urgent to reach an
immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and resume talks for a two-state
solution and for the establishment of an independent State of Palestine.

Palestine's security and sovereignty must be ensured
by regional and global partners.

International community should exert pressure on
Israel to end its genocide and massacre.

Peace and prosperity can only be achieved through
collective and unified efforts.

Comprehensive international aid package should support
the economic development of the Palestinian state in every possible field,
especially in health, trade and agriculture.

The Palestinians are being systematically deprived of
food and their basic needs.

We cannot let the civilians suffer any longer from
this conflict.

In conclusion, I would
like to emphasize once more that the Palestine issue lies in the heart of
security and stability in the whole of the Middle East.

Without finding a
lasting solution to the Palestine issue, we cannot talk about a peaceful and
prosperous Middle East.

Therefore, Türkiye is ready to make every effort to contribute to
bringing a lasting solution to the Palestinian issue.

Thank you for your attention.