Turkish FM hosts Gaza Contact Group panel at Antalya Diplomacy Forum

Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said the Gaza Contact Group has been trying to apply pressure on Israel and the nations that back its attacks on Palestine's Gaza, where more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in five months.

Hosting "Gaza Contact Group" panel at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Fidan said, "We are constantly trying to exert pressure on Israel and the countries supporting its brutal attacks."

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al Maliki and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry participated in the panel.

Due to the group's efforts, the Turkish foreign minister said, the support for securing a ceasefire and the need to increase humanitarian aid for people in the besieged enclave gradually increased.

He said the Islamic world has, for many years, expected others to solve its problems and only condemned this situation.

"Now we are taking this issue into our own hands. We are truly taking on this task with a regional responsibility," Fidan said, adding:

"The Gaza Contact Group is actually the result of such thinking, assigned at the joint OIC-Arab League Summit to take responsibility for the ongoing war in Palestine, and is working on it."

The contact group was established at a joint summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League in Saudi Arabia in November to stop the conflict in Gaza and help achieve lasting peace.

It includes officials from Türkiye, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Palestine.

"Sometimes we (the Gaza Contact Group) worked collectively. Sometimes, we worked with a division of labour. Among us, we addressed different issues by dividing the work," he said, adding:

"This group is actually an indication of the Muslim world's solidarity with Palestine."

Current war is not providing security for Israel

Fidan opposed the argument that the Israeli war on Gaza, which began after the October 7 incursion by Palestinian resistance group Hamas, provides security to Israel.

"We try to express that this is not true. As the contact group, we have highlighted that Palestinians currently need security and self-defence more than anyone else," he said.

Fidan emphasised that international calls for a ceasefire and appeals for a two-state solution have no impact on Israel.

"If another country had committed such a crime, it would certainly face all kinds of sanctions," he said.

"Unfortunately, we cannot prevent bloodshed in Gaza alone because political systems are focused on staying blind; they do not want to open their eyes at all, or some countries have burdens from the past regarding Jews, and therefore, they cannot enter into this issue," Fidan added.

"Going back to the 1967 borders is important. Only then will the Israeli people truly achieve sustainable security," the Turkish diplomat said.

"Israel aims the total destruction of Gaza"

Being among the members of the contact group, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al Maliki and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed the efforts to stop the Palestinian issue and the ongoing massacre in Palestine's Gaza.

Shoukry stated that he feels a great deal of frustration because of being unable to provide enough humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza due to difficult circumstances on the ground.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al Maliki pointed to how Israel has failed to achieve any of its declared objectives in the ongoing conflict in Gaza in his speech during the panel.

Stating that one of the Israel's undeclared objectives is the total destruction of Gaza, he said, as this is the driving force behind the persistence of the conflict.

“If we are not able in the next two to three weeks to reach a ceasefire then it means we will see another round of hostilities, attack against Rafah, another massacre, and continuation of genocide,” al Maliki said on the sidelines of Antalya Diplomacy Forum. 


“(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu wants to drive people completely out of Gaza, and not only to leave Gaza uninhabitable,” he added.

"The real objective of Israel is the West Bank"

Regarding the Israeli policies in the West Bank, al Maliki said: “Israel has a long-term interest not only to stay in the West Bank but also to displace people to pick them out of the West Bank into Jordan and to also annex the Palestinian territory,” adding: 


“That is why we see everyday confiscation of Palestinian land in the West Bank, construction of illegal settlements, destruction of Palestinian homes, attacks by settlers, rampaging everywhere.” 


“While everybody is focusing on the genocide that is taking place in Gaza, we should always remember that the real objective of Israel is the West Bank, the so-called Judea and Samaria Area,” he expressed.

"The perpetrators of the massacre remain blind and deaf to this outcry"

During the opening speech at Antalya Diplomacy Forum, the Turkish foreign minister has said that "the Islamic world, Global South, and conscientious individuals in the West stand for Gaza, while “perpetrators of the massacre ignore this outcry.”

"However, the perpetrators of the massacre remain blind and deaf to this outcry,” Fidan added on Friday.

“We can see that honourable individuals in the West are no longer indifferent to this atrocity in Gaza,” he stated.

He noted that the self-immolation of a US soldier because he could not bear complicity in the Gaza massacre was a sign of the legitimacy crisis of the international system.

Antalya Diplomacy Forum touches on various global issues

Kicking off in Türkiye's Mediterranean coastline city of Antalya on Friday, the forum hosts representatives from 147 countries worldwide under the theme “Elevating Diplomacy Amidst Crises".

Nearly 4,500 participants, including 19 heads of state, 73 ministers, and 57 international representatives are expected to attend the third edition of the forum, which has begun on Friday.

This year's forum features more than 50 panels alongside various exhibitions.

The diverse range of participants includes diplomats, politicians, students, academics, as well as representatives from civil society organisations and the business community.

Among the notable exhibitions, the "Century of Türkiye" showcase unveils Türkiye's visionary contributions to art, energy, defence, and industry.

The forum also presents the "Bulletproof Dreams: Gaza Children Painters Exhibition." Organised by Türkiye's Communications Directorate, this exhibition offers a unique perspective on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza through the eyes of children.