President Erdoğan's first comment on the agreement reached in Syria: A step taken in the right direction

Welcome to our Presidential Complex, the home of the nation, this veteran venue; you have honored us. At the very beginning of my words, I wholeheartedly congratulate you, our nation, and the Palestinian people on the holy month of Ramadan. I pray to the Almighty that just as we have reached this blessed month safely, He may grant us all the ability to reach the Night of Power and the Eid al-Fitr in the same way, with health, well-being, and peace. Once again, through you, I respectfully greet the brave children of Palestine, who hold on to life with dignity all over the world, especially our brothers and sisters in Gaza, Jerusalem, and the West Bank, on behalf of myself and my nation.

WE PRAY FOR GOD'S MERCY UPON ALL OUR MARTYRS

'Do not say that those who are killed in the way of Allah are dead; rather, they are alive, but you do not perceive it.' Yes, even if they have departed from among us physically, we believe that our martyrs are not dead, and we believe in this divine promise with all our hearts. We pray to the Almighty Allah for mercy upon all our martyrs who fell for their homeland, their honor, and their freedom in Gaza and the West Bank. Likewise, I wish long and healthy lives to our brothers and sisters who have attained the rank of veteran while struggling on the sacred path to which they have dedicated themselves. Master Necip Fazıl describes fasting as the source of countless material and spiritual blessings.

I AM PLEASED TO HOST THE HEARTBROKEN CHILDREN

We wholeheartedly hope that the fasts we keep, the charities and worship we perform, and the prayers we offer will increase our material and spiritual blessings and add grace and abundance to our lives. Dear friends, today we are hosting the victims of a great tragedy, one of the most barbaric genocides of the last century, at the Presidential Complex. I am very pleased to host the dignified yet heartbroken children of Gaza in the home of the nation, in this veteran venue. Thank you.

OVER 61 THOUSAND OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS HAVE BEEN MARTYRED

I would like to underline this point once again here. The massacres Israel has carried out in Gaza for 471 days have been etched into human history as a stain of shame. As a result of the attacks by the genocide network, over 61 thousand of our brothers and sisters, mostly children and women, have been martyred. More than 200 members of the press have been slaughtered. More than 330 health workers, who should not be touched even in war, were deliberately killed. Like the whole world, we have been exposed for 471 days to a state of insanity that takes sadistic pleasure in slaughtering babies who still smell of milk, innocent children whom their mothers could not get enough of kissing, sometimes with anger and sometimes with embarrassment.

MANY CHILDREN WERE LEFT WITHOUT MOTHERS AND FATHERS

One of the martyrs who watered the soil with their blood was our 3-year-old child named Rim. Her grandfather, Abu Dia, had laid his granddaughter to rest, kissing the inside of her eyes and saying, "You are the soul of my soul." Last December, Abu Dia also fell as a martyr in Israeli attacks. Many grandfathers were left without grandchildren, many grandchildren without grandfathers, and many children without mothers and fathers. My brothers and sisters, just as Abu Dia saw his granddaughter Rim as the soul of his soul, and just as he embraced her with love, affection, and mercy, we have always seen Palestine as the soul of our soul. We have known our Palestinian brothers and sisters as the life of our life.

WE HAVE NEVER LEFT OUR PALESTINIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS ALONE

We have never left our Palestinian brothers and sisters, with whom we shared a common destiny under the same roof for 4 centuries, alone. From Jerusalem to Haifa, from Safed to Jaffa, from Nablus to Acre, there are traces of our common history, friendship, solidarity, and brotherhood in every corner of Canaan. Whether Turk, Kurd, or Arab, our unity of heart has been inscribed on the streets, avenues, mosques, inns, mansions, bazaars, and fountains of Palestine. Look, when you exit the Bab al-Silsila (Chain Gate) of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and proceed straight, the name of the first street you see on the right is Al-Hakkari. This street takes its name from the cavalrymen from Hakkari who participated in the conquest of Jerusalem under the command of Saladin Ayyubi and settled here after the conquest. There are signs and seals of our eternal and everlasting brotherhood on almost every square meter of Palestinian land.

WE HAVE MOBILIZED ALL OUR RESOURCES

We have never left, and we will never leave, our brothers and sisters in Gaza alone in the face of the Zionist regime's 471-day occupation and genocide policy. Since October 7, when the attacks began, we have mobilized all our resources to stop the bloodshed. We have been the voice of the oppressed Palestinians in all international platforms where we are present, especially the United Nations. We have voiced the injustices. We contributed to 9 more countries recognizing Palestine in addition to the existing ones. We decided to intervene in the genocide case filed against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

WE DELIVERED OVER 100 THOUSAND TONS OF HUMANITARIAN AID MATERIALS TO GAZA

We have delivered approximately 100 thousand tons of humanitarian aid materials to Gaza. By completely stopping trade with Israel, we have foregone a total trade volume of 9.5 billion dollars. We have supported the rightful struggle of our Palestinian brothers and sisters with rallies, boycotts, and awareness campaigns where the number of participants exceeded 500 thousand. Despite those who throw mud at Palestine's resistance to look good to the Zionist regime, those who slander it as a terrorist organization, and those who start every sentence with "but" or "however," we have always stood by the heroic children of Gaza.

WE EVACUATED 880 OF OUR CITIZENS

We have ensured that 1369 patients, wounded, and their companions from Gaza continue their treatment in hospitals in our country, and we have evacuated 880 of our citizens from Gaza. We have provided shelter to nearly 2000 Palestinian brothers and sisters in many of our provinces, especially Ankara and Istanbul. We have supported our Palestinian brothers and sisters with many aid activities led by the Turkish Red Crescent, AFAD, the Türkiye Diyanet Foundation, and other foundations.

WE HOPE FOR THE CONTINUATION OF THE AGREEMENT

I would like to express this point clearly and explicitly once again today. No one will be able to prevent our brotherhood that extends from eternity to eternity. We will not leave our Palestinian brothers and sisters alone from now on either. We will courageously defend the Palestinian struggle for independence under all conditions. We welcome the strong will shown by Islamic countries in recent times to embrace the Palestinian cause and protect the rights of Palestinians. We find the plan formed at the emergency Gaza summit held in Cairo regarding the future of Gaza very valuable. We hope that the agreement reached on January 19 will be continued.

However, the Netanyahu government's attempts to sabotage the ceasefire have been increasing since the first day. We know very well what the current government, which has made Zionist expansionism a state policy, is trying to do. We will not allow new plans based on the "divide, conquer, rule" tactic to be put into effect in our region. I would like to underline and repeat this here. None of the projects aimed at causing a second Nakba catastrophe for the Palestinian people by exiling Palestinians from their lands are acceptable. The title deed of Palestine is in the hands of our Palestinian brothers and sisters. It is useful to remind those who chase after empty dreams of this meaningful poem by Palestine's legendary poet Mahmoud Darwish: "I will embroider a handkerchief until tomorrow, decorated with poems I offer to your eyes, and with one sentence, sweeter than honey and kisses. There is a Palestine. A Palestine. Do not forget, it still exists."

"WE ATTACH GREAT IMPORTANCE TO SYRIA'S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY"

We attach great importance to the territorial integrity of our neighbor Syria, the preservation of its unitary structure, and the strengthening of its unity and solidarity. The full implementation of the agreement reached yesterday will serve the security of Syria. We see every effort aimed at clearing Syria of terrorism as a step taken in the right direction. The winner will be Syria.

News Source: 12punto