Turkey Firmly Rejects Israel's Plan to Build a Buffer Zone in Gaza, President Erdogan: Disrespecting Palestine

JAKARTA - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasized that Turkey rejects the plan to establish a post-war buffer zone in Gaza because it does not respect Palestinians, President Tayyip Erdogan said as quoted on Wednesday.

Speaking to journalists on a flight from Doha, Qatar, President Erdogan said the governance and future of Gaza after the war would be determined by the Palestinian people themselves.

"I even consider the debate regarding this (buffer zone) plan to be disrespectful to my Palestinian brothers. For us, this is not a plan that can be debated, considered or discussed," President Erdogan's office quoted him as saying, reported by Reuters on December 6.

"Gaza belongs to Palestine. We do not recognize decision makers who ignore their decisions," he stressed as quoted by The Times of Israel.

As previously reported, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said at a cabinet meeting in Ramallah that Israel was again trying to occupy the Gaza Strip and was drawing up plans to build a buffer zone in the area, something he firmly rejected and called on the international community to do the same.

"We are facing the re-occupation of the Gaza Strip and plans to build a buffer zone in it. We completely reject this plan and call on the whole world to reject it," Palestinian news agency WAFA quoted the prime minister as saying, quoted by TASS.

"The buffer zone damages (the structure of) the Gaza Strip, even though its territory must be expanded based on UN resolutions," he added.

According to PM Shtayyeh, the area of the enclave used to be around 555 square kilometers, but currently the area is only 364 square kilometers.

Further, calling on Israel to hand back the territories it occupies and end settlements in these areas, President Erdogan said, "Israel must remove terrorists – marketed to the world as settlers – from these homes and lands, and think about how they can build a peaceful future with Palestine."

Ankara is known to sharply criticize Israel's military campaign in Gaza, supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and hosts several members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.