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Speaking to reporters on a flight from Doha, Erdogan said Gaza's
governance and future after the war would be decided by
Palestinians alone.
"I consider even the debating of this (buffer-zone) plan as
disrespectful to my Palestinian siblings. For us, this is not a
plan that can be debated, considered, or discussed," Erdogan's
office quoted him as saying.
Calling for Israel to hand back territories it occupies and end
settlements in those territories, he said: "Israel must remove
the terrorists - which it markets to the world as settlers -
from those houses and those lands, and think about how it can
build a peaceful future with Palestinians."
Ankara has sharply criticized Israel's military campaign in
Gaza, supports a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian
conflict and hosts some members of the Palestinian militant
group Hamas. Unlike most of its NATO allies and some Arab
states, it does not view Hamas as a terrorist group.
Erdogan said Israel had become "the West's spoiled child", and
blamed Western support for Israel for the situation in the
region.
Asked about reports that Israeli officials want to hunt down
Hamas members in other countries, Erdogan said carrying out such
a operation in Turkey would have "very serious" consequences.
"In the event they carry out such a mistake, they should know
that they will pay the price for this very, very heavily," he
said.
Erdogan said Turkey and Qatar wanted to rebuild Gaza and that
Turkey was ready to act as a guarantor or host a peace
conference.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren Butler, Jonathan
Spicer and Timothy Heritage)
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