No: 243, 18 July 2014

We strongly condemn Israel's attacks against the Gaza Strip, which have intensified through the launching of the land operation on 17 July, in addition to the ongoing air bombardments as well as the resulting death and injury of an increasing number of innocent Palestinian civilians, a considerable proportion of whom are children and women.

Israel’s attacks cause losses and devastatingconsequences for the people of Palestine that are totally unacceptable with respect to international law and human conscience. Israel must immediately stop this operation. Ceasefire negotiations should be initiated between the parties as soon as possible and a sustainable ceasefire should be achieved.

H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, had contacts with relevant interlocutors and counterparts, notably H.E. Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the State of Palestine and other Palestinian officials, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, OIC Secretary-General Iyad Madani, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Atiyyah.Moreover, we have launched initiatives to ensure the convening of the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council and the OIC to discuss the matter.

We call on the international community to give the strongest response to the human tragedy occurring in Gaza due to Israel's aggression, and on international organizations, especially the United Nations, to take the necessary stepswithout delay to stop these attacks.

Turkey will continue to exert intense efforts to establish a sustainable ceasefire between the parties and to provide at an increasing pace its strong support to our Palestinian brothers and sisters in this difficult period.