Turkey welcomes recent intra-Palestinian meeting

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey Friday welcomed an intra-Palestinian meeting held under the chairmanship of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The intra-Palestinian meeting late Thursday was held via videoconference among heads of the Palestinian groups in Ramallah and Beirut. The meeting addressed ways to prevent Israeli annexation plans in the occupied West Bank.

The meeting came at a time when the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel announced on Aug. 13 a US-brokered deal to normalize relations, including opening embassies in each other’s territory.

A Turkish Foreign Ministry communique stated the significance and priority of reconciliation process has grown more amid recent incidents aiming to "purge the Palestinian cause and undermine the vision of a two-state solution."

"Turkey will continue to encourage the efforts towards achieving unity and solidarity among Palestinian parties and entities from now on as done in the past, and will continue to provide all means of support to ensure a fair and permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," added the statement.

The Palestinian Authority and resistance factions have denounced the UAE-Israel deal, saying it does not serve the Palestinian cause and ignores the rights of Palestinians.