Turkish FM talks to Palestinian counterpart over phone

By Zuhal Demirci and Fatih Hafiz Mehmet

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had a phone conversation with his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki on Saturday, according to diplomatic sources.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media, did not reveal the content of the conversation, however, a major incident involving Palestinians and Israeli forces occurred on Friday.

At least 15 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip were martyred and hundreds injured when Israeli forces opened fire on protesters marking “Land Day”, an annual Palestinian commemoration of the deaths of six Arab citizens of Israel killed by Israeli forces in 1976 during demonstrations over government land confiscations in northern Israel.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared Saturday a day of mourning over Friday’s deaths.

Also, the UN Security Council on Friday convened an emergency session at Kuwait’s request due to the situation in Gaza after the incident.