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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan marked the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People by pledging continued humanitarian assistance to Gaza and reiterating Türkiye's commitment to a two-state solution based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital.
In a statement posted to social media on Friday, Erdogan said Türkiye is working to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza residents as winter sets in and is doing everything possible to maintain the ceasefire and support a just and lasting peace. He offered prayers for those killed in Israeli attacks and conveyed greetings to the Palestinian people on behalf of the Turkish nation.
"We are striving to deliver humanitarian aid to our brothers and sisters in Gaza who are trying to heal their wounds as we enter the winter months," Erdogan stated. "As Türkiye, we are doing whatever falls upon us regarding both maintaining the ceasefire and humanitarian aid for a just and lasting peace."
The Turkish president emphasized that his country would continue its two-state solution policy "with determination until a free, sovereign and independent Palestinian state is established based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital."
The November 29 observance carries a dual historical significance for Palestinians. The United Nations adopted a resolution on that date in 1947 dividing Palestine into separate Arab and Jewish states, then designated the same date as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People through resolutions passed in 1977 and 1979.
At the time of the 1947 partition plan, approximately 1.35 million Palestinians and 630,000 Jews lived in Palestinian territories. The UN General Assembly approved Resolution 181 after two months of intense negotiations, with 33 states voting in favor, 13 against (including Türkiye), and 10 abstaining.
The plan allocated 56 percent of the 27,000-square-kilometer territory to the proposed Jewish state and 42 percent to the Palestinian state, despite Arabs comprising more than two-thirds of the population. The remaining 2 percent, encompassing Jerusalem and Bethlehem, was designated as a religiously neutral zone under UN control.
The partition plan was never fully implemented. Jewish organizations gained control over the majority of Palestinian territories in 1948, with Israel taking three-quarters of the land while Jordan assumed control of the West Bank and Egypt took Gaza. Israel then occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, and Syria's Golan Heights during the June 5, 1967 war.
The UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories through Resolution 242 in November 1967. Fifty-eight years later, Israel continues to maintain control over these areas, with ongoing occupation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem remaining under Israeli control.
The UN General Assembly established the annual observance during a session on November 29, 1977, to support resolution of the Palestinian question. The UN noted in its resolution that the solidarity day "provides the international community an opportunity to focus on the fact that the Palestinian issue has not yet been resolved."
The UN maintains that the Palestinian people have not obtained rights recognized by the General Assembly, including self-determination, independence and sovereignty, and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes. Israel currently controls approximately 85 percent of historic Palestinian territory, while Palestinians maintain presence on only 15 percent of the land and have not achieved full independence and sovereignty as a state.
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