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The Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) caters to the needs of Palestinians through several projects.
From 2005-2008, TIKA completed 543 projects in the health, water, and archaeological sectors.
TIKA concluded 332 of these projects in occupied West Bank, 81 in occupied East Jerusalem, and 130 in Gaza which is under the Israeli blockade.
TIKA, which has recently built a 180-bed modern hospital for the people of Gaza, is currently working on a housing project that includes 320 apartments.
It also pays attention to the social infrastructure, supports NGOs and empowerment of women, and encourages sports activities.
Israel will open the Kerem Shalom border crossing – Gaza’s only commercial crossing – on Tuesday, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday.In a statement, Lieberman said the border terminal will be reopened if the Gaza border remains calm."If today and tomorrow the situation continues as it was yesterday, then on Tuesday we will allow Kerem Shalom to return to normal activity, and the fishing zones will return to the same distances as before," he said."The key is quiet, calm, zero firebombs, zero friction on the fence and zero rockets or, God forbid, shooting,” Lieberman said.Jordan protests Israeli ‘violations’ at Al-AqsaOver 1,000 Jewish settlers converge on Al-Aqsa complexOn July 9, Israel closed the crossing to all goods except food and medicine. And on July 16, Israel reduced the fishing area to six maritime miles as part of a raft of sanctions imposed by Tel Aviv on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for incendiary kite and balloon attacks by Palestinian activists near the Gaza-Israel security fence.On Friday, Israel and Palestinian resistance factions reached a cease-fire deal following an escalation in the blockaded Palestinian territory.Since March, more than 140 Palestinians have been martyred – and thousands more injured – by Israeli army fire during protests against the decades-long Israeli occupation and an 11-year blockade, which has gutted the coastal territory’s economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of basic commodities.Video: Palestinian martyr buried wrapped in Turkish flag
Israel to re-open Gaza crossing on Tuesday
Turkish style development model
Bulent Korkmaz, the Palestine coordinator of TIKA, said that the aid group, in the words of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was "the executive body of the Turkish development model".
"[TIKA] is different from other organizations which pursue 'neo-colonial' gains under the garb of humanitarian and development aid," he said.
"We operate with the spirit of research, while identifying problems and opportunities, and striving to create alternative ways. Our priority is not religious, ethnic or political groups, we focus on those who are needy.
"We look for sincere relations shaped by brotherhood and friendship," he added.
He said TIKA had brought hope to people who lived in areas rife with despair and pessimism.
A nine-year jail term handed down by an Israeli court against Turkish aid agency employee Mohamed Murtaja has come as a shock to his Palestinian family.“It’s totally unbearable for us to find Mohamed not among us,” his wife, Fatemah, 33, told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview.“We are trying to adapt to the situation -- at least for the sake of our children,” she added, holding back her tears.Married with four children, Mohamed has worked for the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in the Gaza Strip since 2012.He was arrested by the Israeli authorities -- for allegedly aiding Palestinian group Hamas -- on Feb. 12, 2017 while en route to Ankara to attend a TIKA training course.Last week, an Israeli court sentenced Mohamed to nine years in prison on six different charges, including membership in the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, and siphoning funds to the resistance group.In his home, the sorrow can be seen on the faces of his four children.Occasionally, his eldest son, Ahmed, 13, comes into his parents’ bedroom and sits on the chair of his missing father.“I can still feel my father here,” he says dolefully.Mohamed’s eight-year-old son, Faruk, says he fears for how his father is being treated by his jailers.“Maybe he’s hungry, thirsty or sad -- or being assaulted by Israeli soldiers,” the young boy lamented.Israeli court convicts Turkish aid agency employeeFabricatedMohamed’s father says all the charges against his son are fabricated.“Mohamed is working with a Turkish aid agency to help poor and needy Palestinians, regardless of their political affiliations,” Medhat Murtaja said.The Israeli charges, he went on to assert, “are just an attempt to tarnish the image of humanitarian aid being given to Gaza’s poor”.Mohamed’s mother voiced similar sentiments.“We were shocked when we heard Israel’s unjust jail sentence,” Taghreed Murtaja said.“Mohamed was only helping people in need, regardless of their politics,” she said. “My son hasn’t committed any wrongdoing.” Mohamed’s lawyer, Khaled Zabarka, has decried the court ruling against his client as “politically-motivated”.“Israel is openly targeting Turkish activities in Palestine -- and in Gaza in particular -- and using Murtaja to send a message to Ankara,” Zabarka told Anadolu Agency earlier.In recent years, aid workers in Gaza have faced mounting Israeli pressure, often being accused of aiding Hamas and the group’s armed wing.Wahid Burash, a UN-employed Palestinian, was sentenced to seven months in jail last year by an Israeli court for allegedly aiding the Gaza-based resistance group.And in 2016, B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization that documents military violations in the occupied West Bank, was accused of “treason” by the Israeli authorities.Israeli lawmakers recently approved legislation banning activists calling for the boycott of Israeli goods from entering the country.
Israel jail term leaves TIKA employee’s family in grief
Turkey’s state aid agency has given job training to 16 members of the Serbian security forces, the agency said Wednesday.The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) said the training was provided in Serbia’s capital Belgrade as part of the International Police Training Cooperation Project.Designed for coordination and experience-sharing among Turkey and others, the project was jointly conducted by the Turkish Security Directorate.A total of 16 border security personnel benefitted from career education in detecting fraud in travel documents.At a graduation ceremony, the participants received certificates.Earlier, training in Serbia from April 30 to May 4 focused on drug crime investigation training.An applied training program is also planned for Serbian Interior Ministry staff in Turkey, the statement added.Established in 1992, Turkey's government-run aid agency is responsible for implementing Turkey's developmental cooperation policies overseas.The agency carries out development cooperation activities in 170 countries via its 61 program coordination offices in 59 countries across five continents.
Turkey's TIKA helps Serbian security with job training
Jerusalem and Palestine
Korkmaz said that the aid agency was directly involved in 58 different countries with 60 offices and had access to 170 countries.
"Undoubtedly, every country is special to us, but, Palestine and Jerusalem have a separate status.
"As a nation and state, our interest in this area is sometimes misinterpreted. We actually have a working procedure that is open, transparent and reviewable," he added.
He said they had conducted numerous projects in collaboration with groups affiliated with the UN and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
"We share our activities on social and traditional media. Furthermore, we would like to show our methods to the shareholders who want to meet us or learn more about the organization," he added.
- Hospitals and health facilities
"Palestine-Turkey Friendship Hospital" was built in Gaza at a cost of about $62 million. It will start accepting patients in late 2018. The hospital is projected to be the largest hospital in Palestine and will have 180 beds.
Also, a hospital in Tubas city in West Bank, has been operational for the last five years. It is the most modern health facility in the country.
TIKA also provides medical equipment and training to staff, and ambulances.
Housing projects
Hundreds of Palestinians, who lost their homes in Israeli attacks, were given apartments in Gaza.
"Valley Gaza" was completed in 2017 by TIKA at a cost of $13 million.
Some 320 apartments were handed to Palestinian families. Today, 2,500 people reside in the housing block.
Education
Thousands of Palestinians also study in schools built by the agency. So far, six schools have been built by TIKA in Palestine.
TIKA has also finished restoring nine schools and provided equipment support to 20 others.
The 400-bed female student dormitory project of Jerusalem University, which was launched in June 2018, will be completed in two years.
- Olive oil production
Farming is one of the leading sources of income for Palestinians as the country owns fertile agricultural lands.
With a view to developing agriculture in Palestine, TIKA built the most modern olive oil facility in the country in Gaza.
The agency also provided various vehicles to the farmers. The vehicles included two four-wheel drives, 10 tractors, five cultivators, two excavators, two harvesters, and various size plows.
Poultry
An egg poultry facility was established in a school in the Al-Khalil district of occupied West Bank.
Palestinian students have the chance to learn more about the field through the operative facility. The facility is going to contribute to the school budget thanks to the 2,500 poultries' daily egg production.
Cultural services
As Palestine shares a common historical heritage with Turkey, TIKA also restores artifacts dating back to Ottoman era.
TIKA restored the watch tower built by Sultan Abdulhamid II in Nablus and Dome of the Rock's gold-plated crescent in Masjid al-Aqsa complex.
In order to introduce Masjid al-Aqsa and Palestine to foreigners, TIKA also printed guidebooks in Turkish, Arabic and English.
TIKA covered the expenses of 2,500 books prepared by "House of Wisdom", which analyze Turkey-Palestine relations in the last decade, and 1,000 other books that review the 1915 Armenian incidents.
Nebi Musa Festival, which was first started by Salahaddin Ayyubi to show Muslim power in 1187 but then ended in 2014 due to the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, was revived through efforts by TIKA.
TIKA provided office equipment for the "Palestine's Turkey Graduates Association", which aims to improving ties between Palestinian students who graduated from universities in Turkey.