Turkish FM Davutoğlu renews call for ending Gaza's blockade

As he paid a visit to the Palestinian Embassy in Ankara a day after the first anniversary of Israel’s deadly offensive in Gaza in show of solidarity with the Palestinian people on Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu reiterated Ankara’s call for an urgent end to Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Speaking to reporters during his visit to the Palestinian ambassador to Turkey, Nabil Maarouf, Davutoğlu said the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza is still continuing, while also recalling an aid conference on the Gaza Strip held in March -- the conference to which Turkish leaders frequently refer when they blame the international community for failing to honor the promises given at the conference in Sharm el-Sheikh.

“From now on, Gaza should be rehabilitated from being an open-prison and a kind of ghetto,” Davutoğlu said, underlining that everybody has responsibility for Gaza and pledging the continuation of Turkey’s efforts to provide humanitarian support to the region.

The enduring tragedy in Gaza is obstacle to reconciliation among rival Palestinian groups as well as to the healthy improvement within the Middle East peace process, he said.

“If there is a wound in a body and if this wound is bleeding constantly, then it means that this body has no ability to think clearly. That’s why we consider that the resolution of the Gaza issue as soon as possible is vital for both Israel-Palestine talks and the Middle East peace process,” he went on saying, in an implicit reference to the stalled peace talks between Israel and Syria which were mediated by Turkey until the Gaza offensive.

/TODAY'S ZAMAN/