Erdogan: Turkey Rejects Gaza "Safe Zone" Plan

Reports have cited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying on Wednesday that Turkey rejects plans to establish a safe zone in Gaza after the fighting in the region ends, adding that such a plan "does not respect" the Palestinians. Reuters reported last week that Israel sent plans regarding the safe zone to several Arab countries and Turkey. News channel Haber Turk and other media outlets reported that Erdogan, in a conversation with journalists on a flight returning from Qatar, stated that the future of Gaza after the war should be decided by the Palestinian people and that Israel must return the land it occupies. He also noted that Western support for Israel, specifically from the United States, has caused the current situation in the region, warning Israel against pursuing Hamas members in Turkey, saying that Israel would pay a very high price for that. Erdogan indicated that he expects progress on the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara following the introduction of a bill in the Turkish parliament to ratify Sweden's NATO membership. "The United States must pass this (referring to F-16 sales to Turkey) from Congress so that we can take these steps simultaneously," he said.