In the same way that Türkiye helped the Syrian people put their country back on track, a British Palestinian academic believes that a stronger Turkish role could bring peace to the Gaza Strip, where thousands have been killed in Israeli attacks for the past 15 months.
Ibrahim Assalia, who hails from Jabalia in Gaza, expressed hope for a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) ahead of an event by the British Palestinian Committee in London, where he was among the speakers, Assalia expressed hope, saying the Syrian people are now living in peace and maybe the same can be applied to Gaza.
Bashar Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of the capital, Damascus, on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power in Syria since 1963.
“Actually, we are looking for stronger Turkish interference in the Palestinian-Israeli situation. Türkiye is a NATO ally, and it’s a strong nation, a vast nation in the Middle East,” he noted.
Recalling that Arab people have had connections with Turks since Ottoman rule, Assalia said Jerusalem is a sacred place for Arabs and also Turks.
He said Türkiye helped the Syrian people put their country “back on the track to peace,” adding, “Hopefully, the same thing will be applied to the Turkish interference on the Israeli-Palestinian track and then we can hopefully get a peace deal with the help of the Turks.”
Assalia, a lecturer of media ethics, made headlines last year when he left London for Gaza to help his father, who had been diagnosed with blood cancer, receive treatment in Jordan.
But he was not able to get out of Gaza due to Israel’s relentless attacks on the enclave since Oct. 7, 2023. Later, Assalia lost his father, as he would at least 26 other family members.
“To be honest with you, words can’t exactly explain the current situation in the north of Gaza,” he told AA.
Noting that he speaks with remaining family members in Gaza daily, he said like other Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, especially the northern part, they are struggling to find something to eat and drink.
“Sometimes, some of my family members haven’t eaten for a week. Some of my family members haven’t drunk normal water for three or four days. Imagine that. It’s very difficult,” he added.
Two houses of his family, including the one where he was born, were destroyed by Israeli forces, said Assalia.
“There were 26 (family) members or more maybe that were wiped out in one day. That was in the north of Gaza. I lost my father in front of my eyes when I was in Gaza at that time.”
Although he managed to get his mother and brother out of Gaza in March last year, most of his family members remain trapped in northern Gaza.
Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 46,000 people, mostly women and children, since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, while Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.