Top diplomats will convene in the southern province of Antalya on Friday for a meeting on a two-state solution in the Palestine-Israel conflict and permanent peace in the Middle East.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will host the Gaza Contact Group meeting, which is comprised of a committee of ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Arab League countries. The meeting will precede the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on April 11-13 in the eponymous province, which will host heads of state and top officials from across the globe.
It will be the first meeting of the committee in Türkiye and the 20th such event it has held so far. Foreign ministers of Bahrain, Indonesia, Palestine, Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are expected to attend the meeting, along with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha, as well as representatives of United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Ireland, Spain, Norway, Slovenia, China, Russia and European Union.
Turkish diplomatic sources said on Thursday that Fidan will make a speech at the opening of the meeting and will focus on the deteriorating situation in Gaza after Israel’s violation of the truce on March 18, increasing pressure and threats on the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as the deterioration of the perspective of a two-state solution.
He is expected to urge the ministerial committee to intensify efforts for a permanent cease-fire, the release of hostages and captives, full humanitarian access to Gaza and to voice support for efforts by Egypt and Qatar to broker a comprehensive deal to that extent. He is also expected to emphasize the need to keep Palestinians living in their own homeland amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to relocate Gazans and the need to highlight a two-state solution, where the people of Palestine and Israel lived together in peace.