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TÜRKİYE

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Ankara Visit

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in Ankara on Tuesday. Throughout the talks, the two sides focused on different files to deepen the cooperation between the counties. Of note, the Palestine-Israel issue took center stage in the discussions. President Erdoğan again iterated his support for the two-state solution in the Palestine-Israel issue. It is important to note that President Abbas’s visit took place ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s projected visit to Ankara. After many years of tense relations between Ankara and Tel Aviv, the two sides mended ties and elevated diplomatic relations to the ambassadorial in late 2022. The Israeli Prime Minister’s visit to Ankara was scheduled for Friday. Nevertheless, the planned visit was postponed further due to Netanyahu’s recent health problems.

That said, President Abbas also held a meeting with with Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas, during his visit to Ankara. The meeting aimed at coordinating actions to confront the right-wing government led by Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. The meeting also served as preparation for the upcoming conference of general secretaries of Palestinian movements, scheduled to be hosted in Cairo, Egypt, on July 30, 2023. The two leaders agreed on the necessity of “unifying national efforts to counter the imminent risks facing the Palestinian cause,” according to a statement released by Hamas on July 26, 2023.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Met with President Erdoğan and Hakan Fidan

The newly appointed Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has paid a visit to Ankara and met with President Erdoğan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to enhance bilateral cooperation in different fields. The two sides have held closed talks during the Minister’s visit to Ankara. According to the written statement released by Xinhua, China’s official state news agency, Minister Wang ‘‘expressed China’s willingness to make good use of the mechanism of the China-Türkiye Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee to comprehensively advance pragmatic cooperation in various fields, facilitate the BRI construction, achieve a higher level of mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation, and make positive contributions to global economic recovery.’’

SYRIA

UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen Calls for a Negotiated End to the Syrian Crisis
The UN’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, during a UN security council meeting, called for a new round of diplomatic process to relaunch the long-stalled Syrian political process. The envoy reiterated the need for coordination and engagement among different actors of the conflict in an attempt to address the dire humanitarian crisis in Syria. Uttering his disappointment with the UN-led political process for Syria, the envoy claimed that a spirit of pragmatism and flexibility is very much needed to shift the dynamics for re-engagement amongst the different parties of the conflict to address the needs of the Syrian people. Lastly, Pedersen claimed that if the parties do not engage in constructive talks, another missed opportunity is ahead in front of a negotiated end to the crisis at a time when the on-the-ground situation in Syria is deteriorating daily.

ISRAEL

Secretary of State Blinken Reaffirms the US Commitment to Israel’s Security

The United States of America has decided to deal with Israel according to the policy of ‘Interception does not halt aid,’ especially military aid. Despite Washington’s objections to the judicial reform law and the resulting escalation of protests in Tel Aviv, it continues to pledge further military aid.Secretary of state Blinken Reaffirms, stated in Washington, There will be no reductions or halting of military aid, and there is an ironclad commitment towards Israel, its security, and the partnership with the United States, which will continue for decades. Israel is considered the largest recipient of cumulative U.S. military aid since the end of World War II, with the total currently amounting to approximately $158 billion.

On Monday, the Knesset approved the first law that limits the Supreme Court from reconsidering government decisions. Some Israeli lawmakers claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing Israel towards absolute rule. Meanwhile, during the voting, thousands of protesters clashed with the police outside. The United States of America, as stated by its Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, urged its Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, not to jeopardize social cohesion. President Joe Biden also called on Israel to reach a broad agreement on comprehensive judicial reforms supported by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government, which has sparked protests across the country.