Turkiye: Selling arms to Israel means participating in its genocide

Selling arms to Israel means participating in its genocide, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said yesterday.

This came in a press conference he held after the third ministerial review conference of the Turkish-African partnership held in Djibouti.

Fidan explained that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become a source of threat, not only to the countries of the Middle East, but also at the global level.

He added that Netanyahu’s intention is to completely eliminate the principle of the two-state solution, and that he is making efforts to spread the war to other places, especially Lebanon.

“As you know, the Republic of South Africa has filed a case against Israel in the International Court of Justice. It is very important for African countries to have a voice, and Turkiye supports this initiative.”

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Fidan stressed that Israel terrorises the region because it can obtain weapons and ammunition from other countries. He added: “We must prevent Israel from purchasing weapons and ammunition. We must repeat at every opportunity that selling weapons to Israel means participating in genocide.”

Fidan explained that a joint letter was sent to the United Nations on November 1, calling on all countries to stop selling weapons and ammunition to Israel.

Last week, a draft resolution was proposed by Turkiye and some Arab, Islamic and other friendly countries for adoption at the UN. It calls for the international organisation “to take immediate steps to stop the supply or transfer of arms, ammunition and related equipment to Israel.”

The signatories said that the heavy toll on civilians, “most of them children and women,” due to the ongoing violations of international law by Israel, the occupying power, for more than a year is intolerable. “We must act urgently to stop the immense human suffering and regional destabilisation that threatens to ignite a full-scale war in the region. All states must take immediate steps to uphold international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights law. The protection of civilians, an immediate and lasting ceasefire, and maintaining international peace and security are of paramount importance.”

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