ISTANBUL
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Palestine had won the right to appeal to international courts after a UN status upgrade, adding that expecting the country to refrain from that right would be an unfair position.
"Cruelties the Palestinian people are made to endure are known to everyone. It would be unreasonable to expect Palestine to appeal to international justice while Israel continued with its cruelties and settlement policy," Davutoglu told reporters in Istanbul after returning from New York where he attended a UN General Assembly voting that raised Thursday Palestine's status at the organization to "non-member observer state."
Davutoglu said he urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to use rights that came with the status upgrade, adding that he believed Abbas would assess the situation rationally.
"We will stand by our Palestinian brothers whatever their decision will be," Davutoglu said.
Responding to a question over a planned visit by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Gaza, Davutoglu said no specific date had been set for the visit.
Davutoglu said the UN status upgrade had confirmed that Palestine was a state and its territories were under occupation, adding, "and I am calling on Israel and other circles to assess this situation correctly. I hope that the necessary lessons from this resolution will be learned and oppression on the Palestinian people will end."
Davutoglu said the status upgrade showed that the international community and conscience stood by the Palestinians, adding that the resolution was accepted with the strong support of 138 countries which voted in favor.
The Turkish foreign minister also dismissed Israeli remarks that the status upgrade changed nothing, saying, "those who are familiar with the UN procedures know very well the situation has changed from November 28 to November 30. Israel must accept this fact."
