MEDIA STATEMENT BY MALAYSIAN NGOs: PRESIDENT ERDOGAN’S PLANNED MEETING WITH THE ISRAELI PM

We, the undersigned, note with the greatest dismay that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to meet with the prime minister of the Zionist racist apartheid state of Israel on July 28th.

We deplore and denounce in the strongest possible terms the planned meeting.

We note that Turkiye and Israel already have diplomatic relations. Notwithstanding that, a meeting between the leader of the two countries during the current state of affairs in Palestine will send the message that Turkiye considers the current apartheid crimes committed by the Zionist regime acceptable.

We want to remind President Erdogan that Israel only recently attacked the Jenin refugee camp, destroyed its infrastructure and killed 12 Palestinians, including children. The Israeli military is also complicit in the recent crimes committed by armed Israeli settlers, who murdered innocent Palestinians and burned their properties and farms.

Moreover, the Netanyahu government’s recent decision to change the official governance structure of the West Bank by transferring many administrative powers from military to civilian command means that Israel is in the process of fully annexing the West Bank—de jure.

A meeting between Erdogan and Netanyahu means that Turkey does not see Israel’s current policies and actions as reprehensible and unacceptable. It is also sending the wrong message to the rest of the Muslim world, which currently has no diplomatic relations with Israel. The right message is `No Normalisation’ and NOT `Enhanced Relations’.

We therefore strongly urge President Erdogan to review and rescind his plan to meet with the Israeli PM. 

  1. BDS Malaysia
  2. Hashim Sani Centre for Palestine Studies
  3. Persatuan Cinta Gaza Malaysia
  4. Friends of Palestine Network
  5. Malaysian Humanitarian Aid and Relief (MAHAR)
  6. SEJAGAT
  7. Citizens International
  8. Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia (PCOM)
  9. Palestinian Forum Malaysia (PFM)
  10. KDMRS Muslim
  11. Pertubuhan mawaddah Malaysia
  12. MAPIM
  13. Malaysian Women Coalition for alQuds and Palestine (MWCQP)
  14. Al-Quds Foundation Malaysia (QFM)