Cairo: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to participate in the ministerial committee meeting of the Arab-Islamic Contact Group on Gaza, which will be hosted in Cairo tomorrow, Sunday. The meeting will focus on discussing the reconstruction plan for Gaza and the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources have indicated that Fidan will express Turkey’s support for the Gaza reconstruction plan, which was adopted at the extraordinary Arab League summit in Cairo on March 4. He is also expected to stress the urgency of implementing the next stages of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which Israel has not honored. Fidan aims to consolidate the agreement and advocate for the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

In addition to these discussions, Fidan is anticipated to engage with his counterparts on joint efforts to recognize Palestine as an independent and sovereign state. This development comes amid an ongoing escalation in Gaza, where Israel has resumed its military actions. Since the resumption last Tuesday, 634 Palestinians have been killed and 1,172 injured, predominantly women and children, as reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

This escalation marks a significant breach of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza. Israel, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has refrained from implementing the second phase of the agreement, despite Hamas’s adherence to all terms. Netanyahu’s decision has been influenced by pressure from extremists within his government, opting instead to extend the first phase to secure the release of Israeli prisoners in Gaza.

The Arab-Islamic Contact Group on Gaza was established at the conclusion of a joint summit between the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States in Riyadh on November 11, 2023. The group includes nations such as Turkey, Palestine, Indonesia, Qatar, Egypt, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, alongside the Secretary-General of both the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States. The group’s mission is to develop initiatives for achieving lasting peace in Gaza.