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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately fueling instability in the West Bank and Jerusalem, saying Israel benefits from prolonged chaos and conflict in the region, during a joint press conference Wednesday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.
Abbas, who traveled to Türkiye for the meeting, thanked Erdogan and the Turkish government for their support of the Palestinian cause and pointed to a newly signed defense pact among Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan as a possible foundation for greater regional stability.
Erdogan told reporters that the Netanyahu government's objective is to profit from chaos and fresh conflict in order to push the Palestinian cause off humanity's collective agenda. "Whatever they do, they will not succeed," he said, adding that the Palestinian cause would continue to grow in people's hearts the more Israel tried to suppress it.
The Turkish president said Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory was "increasing exponentially" and cited a figure of 3,800 Palestinian deaths in 2026. He said Gaza's reconstruction could not begin until the necessary security conditions were put in place, calling for those conditions to be established "as soon as possible."
Erdogan also renewed Türkiye's condemnation of attacks and provocations at Islamic and religious sites in Palestinian territory, singling out Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. He said Türkiye stood firmly against any attempt to alter the status quo at Islam's first qibla and other holy sites.
Erdogan said Türkiye would press for the establishment of an independent, geographically contiguous Palestinian state based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. He said Israel's current government had met constructive Palestinian engagement with an uncompromising and aggressive stance, rejecting international agreements and diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the conflict.
Abbas echoed that position, saying a just peace could only be achieved through an end to the occupation and the creation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. He said that goal needed to be pursued within the framework of international law and the Arab Peace Initiative, a Saudi-launched proposal that has for decades offered Arab states normalization with Israel in exchange for a full withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territory.
Erdogan noted that both leaders had discussed upcoming Palestinian legislative and presidential elections, the first in years, and expressed hope the vote would advance reconciliation and unity among Palestinians.
Abbas thanked Erdogan and the Turkish government for humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza, for hosting Palestinian students and for treating Palestinian patients and wounded in Türkiye. He said his talks with Erdogan on regional developments and bilateral relations had been "very important and productive," and that the two sides had agreed to deepen dialogue.
He also referred to the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed by Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, calling it "very important" and expressing hope it would mark "a beginning" for securing stability and security in the region and defending the interests of the Muslim world.
Erdogan said Türkiye would continue to defend the Palestinian cause "in the strongest terms on every platform," describing support for the Palestinian people as a shared responsibility of the Islamic world and of humanity as a whole.
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