Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tayyip Erdogan said, that the radical Palestinian movement Hamas has responded positively to new proposals to resolve the conflict, but Israel has decided to continue its policy of oppression. The president said this during a speech in Ankara that was broadcast by local television.
„Hamas responded positively to the cease-fire proposal expressed by US President Joe Biden, as it has done in the past when similar initiatives were expressed, and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's response was again blood , killings, strengthening policies of oppression and occupation. It's time to say stop to this barbarism of Netanyahu, which is leading our region and the whole world to an even greater catastrophe, Erdogan said.
He noted that “the Palestinian people have been oppressed for 76 years, during which time their rights have been usurped and Palestinian children have been killed”. Erdogan recalled that Palestine is already recognized by 147 countries; the further increase of this number, according to him, “will be the most significant response to Israel's occupation policy”. "We are working to increase economic pressure on Israel and support the recognition of an independent state of Palestine," Erdogan added. He also emphasized that “Hamas is not only fighting for the rights of the Palestinians, but in doing so it is protecting all of Anatolia“, the region of Asia Minor in which Turkey is located.
On May 31, Biden presented details of a multi-stage agreement being discussed between Israel and Hamas that would include the possibility of a full ceasefire. From Biden's point of view, Israel should not miss this opportunity. According to Washington's chief of staff, Israel has made its offer and Hamas says it wants a ceasefire. The US president added that Hamas must agree to the deal.
The movement welcomed Biden's speech on Gaza and said it was ready to consider constructively any proposals leading to a complete ceasefire in the Strip and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from it. At the same time, the movement emphasized that it agrees to consider proposals for a settlement in Gaza, if the Israeli side declares its commitment to the same principles of negotiations.
The office of the head of the Israeli prime minister, in turn, said that “Israel's conditions for ending the war [in the Gaza Strip] have not changed”. She emphasized that this was “the destruction of Hamas's military and administrative capacity, the release of all hostages and ensuring that the Gaza Strip no longer poses a threat to Israel”. It said the idea of Israel agreeing to end the war until those conditions were met was “unacceptable”.