Özgür Özel, the leader of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has announced the postponement of a visit to the de facto Palestinian capital of Ramallah today due to the latest developments in the region.
Özel announced last month that he would visit Ramallah on April 15 and meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas while refusing to meet with any representatives from the militant group Hamas.
The CHP leader announced on X on Monday that his visit unfortunately can’t take place as scheduled due to the latest developments in the region and the closure of Israeli airspace.
With the latest developments, he was apparently referring to the growing tensions in the region caused by Iran’s launch of its first-ever direct assault on Israeli territory late Saturday in retaliation for a deadly strike by Israeli forces on Tehran’s embassy complex in Damascus on April 1.
Iran’s airstrikes on Israel led to cancellations or disruption of flights to Israel and surrounding countries at the weekend.
Özel said, however, that he would visit Palestine at the first possible opportunity.
“We stand with the Palestinian people. A ceasefire should be achieved as soon as possible, and the smooth transportation of humanitarian aid to the region should be ensured,” he added.
Tensions have been running high in the Middle East since October 7, when Hamas militants carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking some 250 others hostage.
The death toll in Gaza caused by Israel’s retaliatory attacks, meanwhile, has exceeded 33,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Özel said last month that his party believes the solution to the ongoing conflict in the region lies in the establishment of an independent state of Palestine on the basis of its 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Unlike the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and its leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the CHP does not see Hamas militants as “liberators” fighting for their land.
Özel said earlier that he would not meet with any members of Hamas because he thinks their attack on Israel on October 7 was an act of terrorism.
He also described the retaliatory attacks launched by Israel on Gaza after October 7 as “state terrorism.”