'No peace in Middle East unless Palestinian state is formed'

There will be no peace in the Middle East without the establishment of an independent State of Palestine, the Turkish parliament speaker has said, calling on the international community to take action to this end amid the ongoing Israeli offensive against the civilians in Gaza.

There are three main issues that need to be followed by the international community regarding the Israeli-Palestinian question, Numan Kurtulmuş said in his address at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly in Antalya on Nov. 27.

"First, there will be no peace in the Middle East without the establishment of a free, sovereign and territorially integrated State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital. Second, holy sites that belong to Muslims and Christians, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque, should be taken under international guarantee," Kurtulmuş stressed.

The third is about Jewish settlers who have been occupying the Palestinian territories, Kurtulmuş said. "These occupiers should be removed and the lands should return to Palestinians. I underline once again: Peace will never come to the Middle East without the implementation of these three issues."

That's why the international community should come together by using all available means and play an efficient role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian problem, the parliament speaker stressed.

In addition to these, the international community should call senior Israeli officials to account for the bloodshed of civilians in Gaza at the war crimes tribunal. "Just like the murderers who had committed the massacres in Bosnia, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his gang should also be taken to the International Criminal Court. The international community should get...