IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu commented on US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan. Chairman Zeytinoğlu indicated that the plan was one-sided and solely designed to uphold Israel’s security. Indicating that a peace process which excludes the Palestinians will be a still-born one, IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu made the following remarks:

“President Trump’s Middle East peace plan, which he presented as the ‘Deal of the Century’, is unfortunately far from bringing peace to the region. As in the case of Trump’s decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, we see that the issue is only considered from the Israeli perspective and the injustice and unfairness suffered by the Palestinians is disregarded. Behind Trump’s moves, lie domestic political concerns. Trump aims to divert attention away from his ongoing impeachment process and also to prepare for the upcoming election campaign. We find it extremely wrong that he is using the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an issue that concerns peace in the whole region, as a domestic politics material.”

IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu also indicated that Trump’s plan was not compatible with the long-standing position of the UN and undermined key principles such as the two-state solution, prevention of the expansion of Israeli settlements, Israel’s withdrawal from the lands occupied since 1967 and the return of approximately 6 million Palestinian refugees. Chairman Zeytinoğlu underlined that creating a fait accompli out of the current situation, without taking into consideration of the position of the Palestinian side, will not bring sustainable peace and continued as follows:

“Naturally, finding a fair and comprehensive solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict is very important for stability of the region; however, the solution cannot be reached by unilateral imposition of one side. Trump aims to create a fait accompli and impose a solution on this issue without addressing the essence of the problem. That is not the way to ensure sustainable peace.”

IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu also reminded the “Industry for Peace Initiative” in Jenin and highlighted the need for the business community to take action to address poverty and exclusion issues in the region, and said that investments to the region should be encouraged. IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu also pointed out that investments to the region could facilitate a political solution. Zeytinoğlu underlined that Turkey’s approach towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its support for the two-state solution is compatible with the position of the EU. Zeytinoğlu suggested that Turkey should cooperate and act in coordination with the EU on peace efforts and concluded his remarks with the following words:

“The approach of the EU differs from that of the US. The EU supports the two-state solution proposing a state of Palestine which is independent, democratic, united and capable to maintain itself. In this respect, there are some commonalities between Turkey’s and EU’s stance. Turkey could coordinate its initiatives with the EU in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”