Turkish foreign minister to attend extraordinary Islamic bloc meeting on Palestine

ISTANBUL

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will attend an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Friday to discuss ongoing Israeli aggression against Palestinians and proposals to expel them from their land, diplomatic sources said.

The meeting, set to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, aims to present a unified response from OIC members to US President Donald Trump's calls for the forced displacement of Palestinians, the sources said.

Discussions will also cover the Gaza Strip reconstruction plan adopted Tuesday at an emergency Arab League summit.

During the meeting, Fidan is expected to emphasize Palestinians’ inalienable right to self-determination and reaffirm Türkiye’s commitment to defending their rights. He will stress that any plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza is unacceptable and violates international law.

Fidan will also highlight the importance of focusing on Gaza’s reconstruction and reiterate Ankara’s support for the Arab leaders' reconstruction plan. Additionally, he will call for intensified joint efforts to advance recognition of Palestine as an independent state.

He is also expected to underline the urgent need for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid.

An emergency Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday adopted Egypt's $53 billion reconstruction plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip without displacing Palestinians from their land.

The Arab proposal came after Trump's plan to "take over" Gaza and resettle Palestinians to develop it into what he called the "the Riviera of the Middle East." The plan was rejected by the Arab world and many other nations, who say it amounts to ethnic cleansing.