ANKARA (Reuters) -The foreign ministers of Turkey and Egypt will discuss the Gaza ceasefire and international efforts to rebuild the enclave once the war is over during talks in Ankara on Wednesday, a Turkish foreign ministry source said on Tuesday.
NATO member Turkey has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s two-year assault on Gaza, calling it a genocide, which Israel denies. Along with Egypt and Qatar, it has helped mediate the fragile ceasefire, emerging as a crucial player and vowing to monitor the strict implementation of the accord.
The source said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan would host Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty for Wednesday’s talks on the possible next phases of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement.
Fidan would “state that, despite Israel’s violations, the Palestinian side is adhering to the conditions of the ceasefire and managing the process in a positive way”, the source said, adding Fidan would also note the need for world powers to help rebuild the enclave and repeat Turkey’s offer to play a role in such efforts.
Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of breaching the October truce deal, with Israel saying Hamas was stalling over returning hostage remains and Hamas saying Israel continued to obstruct aid deliveries.
With U.S. urging, Turkey has repeatedly voiced its desire to join task forces to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire, including an international stabilisation force for which a U.N. Security Council resolution is being sought.
However, Israel has voiced its opposition to such Turkish involvement, saying there would be no forces from Turkey present in Gaza.
The ministers would also hold the inaugural meeting of the Turkey-Egypt Joint Planning Group, the source said. The meeting will convene officials to work on preparations for high-level talks to be held in Cairo next year, in line with an agreement signed last year.
Ankara has repeatedly praised Egypt for its role in taking in and facilitating humanitarian aid shipments for Gaza. It has sent thousands of tonnes of aid and offered to help Hamas find bodies of Israeli hostages as per the deal.
Earlier this month, ministers from seven Muslim countries met in Istanbul to discuss Gaza, but Egypt did not attend the meeting.
Fidan also held talks with U.S. officials on Syria and Gaza while on a visit to Washington on Monday, after which he said they had discussed possible next steps in the ceasefire deal.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Alex Richardson)
