Erdogan says cancelling plans to visit Israel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced at a meeting of his party that he has cancelled his visit to Israel.

"We had a project to go to Israel, it was cancelled, we will not go," the president said, according to Anadolu.

Erdogan denounced Israel once again for its atrocities targeting Palestinians. He said Türkiye had no issue with the people of Israel while repeatedly slamming the Netanyahu government.

Erdogan noted that Israel should stop attacks on Gaza, not close the crossing point for humanitarian aid on the border with Egypt and accelerate negotiations on the release of hostages.

In his speech, the Turkish leader recalled the neighbourhood and closeness of the two nations.

"When the forces they rely on today are gone tomorrow, the first place where the Israeli people will look for trust and mercy will be Türkiye, just like 500 years ago," Erdogan noted.

Erdogan said sides and the international community should heed the lessons from previous failed peace talks, adding that Türkiye offered a new round of Palestine-Israel peace conferences. He said the "unity" of Palestinians is necessary to pave the way for such a conference.