Turkey hosts numerous Palestinians from Syria

Turkey has taken in between 5,000 and 7,000 Palestinian refugees who fled Syria as a result of that country’s devastating six-year civil war, the Palestinian ambassador to Turkey said Friday.

“[Turkish] public institutions and Turkish and Palestinian NGOs are coordinating efforts to lighten the burdens faced by Palestinian refugees in Turkey,” Faed Mustafa, Palestinian ambassador in Ankara, told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview.

According to Mustafa, the majority of Palestinians who have sought refuge in Turkey in recent years were living in the country’s southern provinces.

“After I finished my diplomatic mission in Russia, the Palestinian Authority let me choose my new assignment,” he said.

“I chose Turkey because it is very active in the Middle East and has a long and complex history,” he added. The diplomat concluded by expressing the Palestinian people’s “love and respect” for the Turkish people and government.