Turkiye halts energy projects with Israel in the absence of a ceasefire: Minister

Turkiye will not discuss any energy-related projects with Israel without a ceasefire in Gaza, as it would be disrespectful to Palestinians who are experiencing great brutality, a senior official said late Tuesday, local Turkish media outlets reports.

According to the report, Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Alparslan Bayraktar, told a private broadcaster that “in such an atmosphere, in an environment of such great brutality, human drama, it would be disrespectful to humanity, to our humanity, to our siblings there (in Palestine) to talk about any project.”

“The only thing we will talk about at this time is how we can meet Gaza’s electricity, water and food needs. This could happen. That would be the only project,” he said.

Israel has launched air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Resistance group, Hamas, on 7 October.

Pointing out that life has stopped in the region after the Gaza attacks, Bayraktar said: “After the great brutality and cruelty experienced there, the only project we can talk about right now is how we can get Gaza’s electricity back on its feet again.”

“We have sent generators. They are waiting at the Rafah border crossing,” he added.

“We are considering how we can contribute there with floating power plants and mobile power plants, which we call power ships,” the Minister said, reiterating it is impossible to talk about anything without a ceasefire.

READ: Turkiye FM tells Blinken: Israel’s aggression on Gaza needs to stop