CAIRO, Nov 4. The Palestinian movement Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip stated that it welcomes Turkey's decision to recall its ambassador from Israel.
Earlier on Saturday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced the decision to recall Ambassador in Tel Aviv Shakir Torunlar to Ankara for consultations against the backdrop of events in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Turkey's decision brings Ankara even closer to Hamas.
“We welcome the decision of the Republic of Turkey to recall its ambassador from the criminal Zionist entity (Israel — ed.) amid the continuation of its aggression and genocide against the besieged Palestinian people,” Hamas said in a statement.
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara was working to declare Israel a “war criminal.” On Saturday, he noted that Ankara no longer considers Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be an interlocutor, but the Turkish intelligence chief maintains contacts with Israel.
Relations between Israel and Turkey deteriorated sharply in 2010 after the incident with the seizure by Israeli special forces of the Mavi Marmara ship leaving Turkey for the Gaza Strip. In May 2018, Ankara invited the Israeli ambassador to Turkey to leave the country after protests in the Gaza Strip against the backdrop of the 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel and the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to coincide with the anniversary. Then 59 Palestinians were killed in clashes and more than 2.7 thousand were injured.
On October 7, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented-scale rocket attack from the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, announced by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement. After this, the organization’s fighters entered the border areas in southern Israel, where they opened fire on both military and civilians, and also took more than 200 hostages. In Israel, according to local authorities, more than 1.4 thousand people were killed, including 300 military personnel, and more than 5 thousand were injured.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Within a few days, the Israeli military took control of all populated areas near the border with Gaza and began carrying out air strikes on targets, including civilians, in the strip. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip: the supply of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel was stopped.
The number of victims in the Gaza Strip exceeded 9.4 thousand people, over 24 thousand were injured. The Russian Embassy reported that during the escalation of the conflict, 20 Russians were killed, two were taken hostage, and seven were listed as missing. According to various sources, about 150 Israelis may be held captive by Hamas. The movement itself stated that there are about 200-250 prisoners in the Gaza Strip.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to stop hostilities. According to the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the settlement of the Middle East crisis is possible only on the basis of a “two-state” formula approved by the UN Security Council, which provides for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, related to the territorial interests of the parties, has been a source of tension and clashes in the region for many decades. A UN decision with the active role of the USSR in 1947 determined the creation of two states — Israel and Palestine, but only the Israeli one was created.