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Türkiye’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ahmet Yildiz, on Tuesday called on all U.N. member states to unite behind a General Assembly resolution on Palestine, urging global consensus on a peaceful settlement to the decades-long conflict.
“Türkiye firmly supports the resolution on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian question, which is scheduled for action today,” Yildiz told the General Assembly. “We call on all member states to vote in favor of the resolution and work diligently toward its implementation.”
Yildiz described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “alarming,” saying the death toll has surpassed 70,000 amid ongoing hostilities, bombardments, and infrastructure collapse. “Entire neighborhoods have been leveled, and Gaza’s already fragile infrastructure has been pushed to collapse,” he said, adding that despite the devastation, there have been “encouraging signs” in the diplomatic arena.
He cited several developments over the past year that reflect growing international support for a two-state solution—including a high-level conference on the two-state framework in July, a head-of-state meeting in September during which 11 countries formally recognized the State of Palestine, and the General Assembly’s adoption of the New York Declaration.
“After two years of devastating conflict and immense human suffering in Gaza, we welcome the establishment of a ceasefire,” Yildiz said. “As a mediator, Türkiye calls for full and faithful implementation of the ceasefire agreements, including Security Council resolution 2803 and the 20-point peace plan.”
The Turkish envoy urged the international community to ensure unimpeded humanitarian aid at the necessary scale, the immediate start of early reconstruction to restore essential services, and the prevention of spillover violence in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria or the wider region.
“While we focus on consolidating the ceasefire and enhancing humanitarian support in Gaza, the situation in the occupied West Bank remains deeply concerning,” he said. “Rising violence, settlement expansion and shrinking civic and economic space threaten to destabilize the environment and erode the prospects for any political horizon.”
Yildiz reiterated Türkiye’s strong condemnation of the ongoing expansion of illegal settlements, settler violence and actions violating the status quo at Al-Haram Al-Sharif (the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex).
He also welcomed the International Court of Justice’s Oct. 22 advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations in the occupied Palestinian territory. “A just and lasting peace in the Middle East can only be achieved through a political solution based on the two-state vision and the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent, sovereign and geographically contiguous State of Palestine,” Yildiz said.
Türkiye reaffirmed its readiness to actively support the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas and to contribute to “all sincere and coordinated efforts” aimed at achieving a comprehensive political settlement, he added.
Meanwhile, the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a separate resolution declaring Israel’s continued occupation and de facto annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights “illegal” and demanding its withdrawal to the June 4, 1967 line.
The draft resolution, authored by Egypt, passed with 123 votes in favor, seven against, and 41 abstentions. It reaffirmed that Israel’s 1981 decision to impose its “laws, jurisdiction and administration” on the occupied Syrian Golan is “null and void and has no validity whatsoever.”
Following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in late 2024, Israel expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarized buffer zone, violating the 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Syria.
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