Arabia poised at ‘make-or-break’ moment, Turkiye says

Muhammad Amin

Arabia has reached a “make-or-break” moment where it can hold Israel accountable and turn away from all-out war, Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says.

“We are at a make-or-break moment. The genocidal aggression of Israel has raised a sincere awareness as to the true nature of the problem,” he said during a discussion on Gaza at the United Nations Thursday,

The region and the world could not afford to “wait for the goodwill of Israel to implement the two-state solution”, Fidan said during a ministerial meeting on Gaza organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Arab League Gaza Contact Group, the European Union, and Norway, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Turkish news outlet Yeni Safak reported he pointed out the Israeli Knesset had already rejected the UN-sanctioned establishment of a Palestinian state, adding: “Pure greed should not be condoned.”

The same greed was also motivating its prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s deliberate and calculated sabotage of peace talks: “The ceasefire talks are at an impasse because Netanyahu torpedoed them whenever a ceasefire seemed within reach.”

Without the necessary external restraint, Israel would be unable to pull itself out of the death spiral that was accelerating and widening in a maelstrom of anarchy as it “expanded its aggression, first to the West Bank, East Jerusalem and now to Lebanon”.

Women and children continued to dominate the casualty lists as the Lebanese Health Ministry has reported 677 people dead in Israel’s attacks after its pager and walkie-talkie attacks last week. Over 2 500 have been injured so far.

And the Gaza depravity continues, with 41 534 dead, 96 082 wounded and over 11 000 missing after 357 days of unrelenting genocide, aided and abetted by the United States.

Anadolu Agency reports the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called on US foreign secretary Antony Blinken to resign because he misled Congress on Israels deliberate starvation policy it is waging against the Gazan population.

Blinken deliberately misled the house about a report on Israel’s starvation blockade. ProPublica revealed both the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department’s own investigations had concluded Israel was deliberately obstructing aid deliveries to Gaza.

But he instead told Congress in May: “We do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of US humanitarian assistance.”

ProPublica cited a USAID memo detailing Israeli interference with aid efforts, including attacks on aid workers and blockage of supplies.

CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil rights organization, accused the White House of complicity in “the Israeli genocide in Gaza”.

Fidan reminded the UN session Turkiye had long warned that failing to resolve war on Gaza could pull the entire region into “a black hole.”

“This is exactly what is happening now with Lebanon. Our region is engulfed with flames because of Netanyahu,” Fidan said.

Fidan noted nine other countries had recently recognized Palestine and expressed confidence more nations would follow suit.

“A Palestinian State is not a utopia. It is a fact, my friends. We should all embrace this in our narrative and for our deeds,” he said.

The International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion and the UN General Assembly resolution from May 10, 2024, had also opened new avenues, he said, adding: “Now, we are one veto short of our objective.”

“The State of Palestine should be a full UN member,” he argued.