Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he is planning to pay a visit to Gaza along with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas if the conditions are ripe, local newspaper Today's Zaman reported on Friday.
Welcoming the Qatar Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani's recent trip to Gaza, "I want to visit Gaza soon in mutual covenant with Gaza authorities too," Erdogan told reporters on board of a plane en route from Berlin to Ankara late Wednesday.
Although President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas's arch-rival, is not in favour of the rule of Hamas in Gaza, Erdogan said that he even once offered a suggestion to Abbas to visit Gaza together, adding "he was warm to the suggestion."
Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and his wife Sheikha Mozah travelled from Egypt [2] to Gaza in October, a political move to break Israel [3]'s blockade on Gaza.
Turkey also urged Israel to lift its blockade to Gaza, making it one of the pre-conditions to normalize relations with Israel which strained after an Israeli raid on Turkish aid ship, killing nine Turkish activists in 2009.
Front Page Features