Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu and Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki
Turkey is taking all the necessary steps to clear up the case of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Thursday, adding that Ankara had shared information about the killing with the relevant parties.
“Everyone connected to the murder of Khashoggi needs to be investigated and tried in Turkey,” Çavuşoğlu said during a news conference with his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki.
Ankara has no intention of taking the case to an international court, but it will share information with the court if it launches an investigation, said Çavuşoğlu, noting that Turkey was cooperating with those who sought to work together, including Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman said Wednesday that the ongoing furor over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi would not “drive a wedge” between his country and Turkey.“I want to send them a message: They will not be able to do that [i.e., harm Saudi-Turkish relations] as long as there is a king called King Salman bin Abdulaziz and a crown prince called Mohamed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia and a president in Turkey named [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan,” the crown prince declared.Bin Salman's remarks, which he made on the second day of a high-profile investment conference now underway in Riyadh, came one day after Erdogan revealed details of Khashoggi’s Oct. 2 murder in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.UK PM: Saudi account of Khashoggi murder ‘not credible’The crown prince went on to assert that both countries were cooperating with one another with a view to ascertaining the truth behind the journalist’s death.The Turkish and Saudi governments, he added, were both keen to see those responsible for the crime held to account.A columnist for The Washington Post, Khashoggi went missing after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.CIA director hears Khashoggi murder tape: ReportAfter several days of denying any knowledge of his whereabouts, Saudi Arabia last week appeared to admit that Khashoggi had died inside the consulate.Since then, King Salman has sacked his deputy intelligence chief -- and a top aide -- while ordering the arrest of 18 people suspected of involvement in Khashoggi’s murder.
Khashoggi affair ‘won’t drive wedge’ between Saudi, Turkey
CIA Director Gina Haspel listened to an audio tape of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s interrogation and murder during a visit to Turkey, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.“Haspel, who departed for a secret trip to Turkey on Monday, heard the audio during her visit, according to people familiar with her meetings,” said the U.S. daily.CIA Director on way to Turkey for Khashoggi case“A person familiar with the audio said it was ‘compelling’ and could put more pressure on the United States to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for the death of Khashoggi,” the newspaper reported.Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, was last seen on Oct. 2 when he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.After days of denying any knowledge of his whereabouts, Saudi officials last week admitted that Khashoggi was killed in a "brawl" at the consulate.Trump says Saudi prince 'running things,' could be behind Khashoggi death: WSJIran: Riyadh would not have murdered Khashoggi without US protection
CIA director hears Khashoggi murder tape: Report
Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, was last seen on Oct. 2 when he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
After days of denying any knowledge of his whereabouts, Saudi officials last week admitted that Khashoggi was killed in a "brawl" at the consulate.
Turkey-Palestine ties
Palestine and Jerusalem are Turkey's "red line," Çavuşoğlu said.
Ankara continues to be in solidarity with brotherly Palestine, he added.
"Even if everyone abandons the Palestinian cause, we will not," Çavuşoğlu said.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki in his turn said, “'We can confront all threats with Turkey's support.”
Israeli police on Wednesday forcibly dispersed a demonstration by Coptic Christians in the courtyards of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in East Jerusalem’s Old City, according to eyewitnesses. “Israeli police arrested a monk -- and beat several others -- during a demonstration held by Coptic Christians to protest the Israeli authorities’ refusal to allow them to renovate the Al-Sultan Monastery,” one witness, preferring anonymity, told Anadolu Agency. The Deir al-Sultan is a Coptic Christian monastery located on the roof of the Holy Sepulcher.In a statement, Jerusalem’s Christian National Assembly denounced the “barbaric attack by [Israeli] occupation forces on Coptic monks in the church’s courtyard”.The statement quoted assembly head Dimitri Daliani as saying: “This attack… comes within the context of the ongoing persecution of non-Jews in the occupied city of Jerusalem”. According to Daliani, the Israeli authorities recently sent a group of archeologists to “work inside” the monastery."The occupation authorities are trying to engage themselves in the affairs of the churches and impose control over the monasteries surrounding the Church of the Holy Sepulcher,” he asserted. Local Muslim and Christian clerics complain that the Israeli authorities impose tight restrictions on the restoration of Jerusalem’s Muslim and Christian holy sites.Egypt resumes shuttle diplomacy between Hamas, IsraelIsrael is now ‘big brother’: US envoyIsrael resumes fuel shipments to Gaza
Israel detains Christian monk, beats others in E. J'lem
Israel allowed the entry of fuel shipments, including Qatar-funded fuel, into the blockaded Gaza Strip on Wednesday, according to a Palestinian official.“Qatar-funded fuel trucks began to enter Gaza today,” the official, who works on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.He said four trucks of Qatar-funded fuel are scheduled to be allowed into the Palestinian territory on Wednesday.“Six other fuel trucks will cross into the strip today,” he added.On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman allowed fuel shipments into Gaza upon recommendations from security agencies, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.Ten days ago, Lieberman ordered a halt to fuel shipments into Gaza, citing violence along border with the Gaza Strip.Earlier this month, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that an agreement with Qatar was reached in recent weeks to finance the purchase of fuel for Gaza’s power plant.Since 2007, when Palestinian group Hamas seized the Gaza Strip from rival faction Fatah, the coastal enclave has groaned under an Israeli blockade that has deprived its two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.Israel Aerospace wins $777 mln India contract for missile defencePalestinian martyred by Israeli gunfire in West Bank
Israel resumes fuel shipments to Gaza