Turkish FM Fidan holds several talks over Israel-Palestine clash

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have spoken over the phone amid recent tensions between Israel and Palestine, Turkish diplomatic sources said.

This was the second phone call between the two since tensions escalated between Palestine and Israel on Saturday.

Fidan has also held discussions with his Jordanian and Spanish counterparts as fighting continued on the second day following Hamas' surprise assault on the illegal Israeli settlements.

Fidan spoke over the phone with Jordan’s Ayman Safadi and Spain’s Jose Manuel Albares on Sunday without sharing further information.

The Turkish top diplomat also had a phone call with his United Arab Emirates counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to discuss the latest developments in the fighting between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, diplomatic sources said. No further details were given.

Hamas launched Operation Al Aqsa Flood on Saturday and said the attack was in response to the storming of the Al Aqsa Mosque and increased illegal settler violence. It said it fired rockets and captured many Israelis.

In retaliation, the Israeli army initiated Operation Swords of Iron against the Gaza strip.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on both sides to act with restraint in order to avoid further escalation.

President Erdogan has said the realisation of an independent, and geographically integrated Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as capital, could not be delayed any longer.

“Lasting peace in the Middle East is only possible through a final settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” Erdogan said on Sunday.

Earlier, Fidan held phone calls with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Furhan al Saud, Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, Palestinian counterpart Riyad al Maliki, and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.