ISRAEL'S ATTACKS ON GAZA WERE IN TURKISH PARLIAMENT

On behalf of the AK Party Group, AK Party Vice-Chairman Egemen Bagis made a speech in the general assembly session mentioning that Israel is using disproportionate and unconditional power in Gaza.

Bagis stated that during the meeting between Prime Minister Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert, Israeli-Syrian peace process were discussed. He added that the claim of Prime Minister Olmert about the notification of Prime Minister Erdogan does not reflect the truth.

Bagis stated that such a claim brought up by some parliamentarians is "a disgrace". "Our Prime Minister had not received any information. Otherwise he would not remain unresponsive. No excuse can be legitimized while targeting civilians and using of excessive force. Our Prime Minister's meetings were put into records, which were kept in government's archive". Bagis continued.

Bagis underlined Erdogan's efforts as the mediator in order to resolve the conflicts in the Middle East and to his contribution to regional peace. He mentioned that many countries appreciate the determined stance of Prime Minister Erdogan on the issue.

"In order to reach cease-fire, Hamas needs to become a party to negotiations and we believe that there should be a two-state solution next to each other." Bagis mentioned.

Reminding his announcement that he has resigned from the Turkish-Israeli Interparliamentary friendship group, he said "I have showed a sensitivty. Our reaction is against Israeli government continuing atrocious aggression. Our citizens with different religious background with Jewish, Armenian, Syriac, Greek origin who have been living in this country for ages are also quite anxious for Israeli use of disproportionate power targeting children, women and civilians. As a matter of fact, Jewish people living all around the world including the ones in Israel are upset and are not affirming those events. Like tens of thousands of Imams and Alewi dervishes did, Greek orthodox patrician Mr. Bartholomeos in our country supported and prayed for our Prime Minister's efforts for Middle East peace process during Christmas religious ceremony. Chief Rabbi in Turkey published a declaration and many minority leaders personally called us and conveyed their appreciations for our peace attempts. Those are examples of humanitarian sensibility and commonsense. Today we need commonsense more than ever."