Ankara hosts gathering to mark Palestine Solidarity Day

ANKARA

Turkey’s capital Ankara hosted Friday a conference to mark the UN-instituted International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

The day, marked on Nov. 29 of each year since 1977 by Palestinians and internationally, recalls the UN General Assembly's Resolution 181, which was adopted in 1947 and known as the UN Partition Plan for Palestine.

The conference, which was held by the Palestinian Embassy in Turkey, was attended by many officials, including Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister Mehmet Cahit Turhan, Faleh Majed al-Mutairi, the head of the Arab League mission in Ankara, and Alvaro Rodriguez, the officer-in-Charge for UN in Turkey.

In his opening speech, Palestinian Ambassador to Ankara Faed Mustafa said the international solidarity day comes this year amid mounting U.S. support for the Israeli occupation, with the latest U.S. announcement on the Israeli illegal settlements.

Early this month, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Israeli settlements in the territory will no longer be viewed as illegal "per se".

The announcement broke away from the State Department's 1978 legal opinion which held that Israeli settlements are "inconsistent with international law."

“The endless and limitless U.S. support emboldens Israel to continue its assaults against the innocent Palestinian people,” Mustafa said, adding, “instead of backing peace and security worldwide, the U.S. [by this support] continues to renege on its moral and legal responsibilities.”

He went on to assert that the international community which adopted the 181 partition resolution for Palestine in 1947 should assume their responsibilities again and adopt the second part of the resolution which called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

For his part, Turkey’s Turhan confirmed his country’s firm position in backing the Palestinian people until they regain their legitimate rights.

“Our support for the Palestinian righteous cause is one of our greatest priorities and this will continue until Palestine becomes a fully independent state,” he said.

He also recalled Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan’s pledge that his country won’t accept any peace plan that ignores the indispensable and just rights of the Palestinian people.