Faruk Zorlu
18 May 2021•Update: 18 May 2021
ANKARA
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday met his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Ankara to discuss the situation in Palestine amid continual Israeli bombardment.
Discussed Israel's atrocities in Palestine, our relations and Afghan peace process, Cavusoglu said on Twitter.
"Nothing can shake our resolve as we stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Palestine in their legitimate right to self-determination & establishment of independent state with pre-1967 border and Al-Quds Al Sharif as capital," Qureshi said in a separate tweet.
At least 217 Palestinians have been killed, including 63 children and 36 women, and 1,500 others injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since May 10, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The airstrikes were preceded by days of tension and Israeli aggression in occupied East Jerusalem, where hundreds of Palestinians were assaulted by Israeli forces at Al-Aqsa Mosque and in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Both Turkish and Pakistani leaderships have reached out to world leaders and international organizations in their efforts to protect Palestinians.
The same evening, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Qureshi in Ankara.
Cavusoglu also attended the closed-door meeting between Erdogan and Qureshi.
*Dilan Pamuk contributed to this report
