Removal of the embargo on Gaza rapid delivery of humanitarian aid to the region and reconstruction of the whole city were the most urgent actions that should be taken in Palestine currently Turaaa's president said Saturday. (UPDATED)


An independent Palestinian state should be founded on its own territory in order to achieve a permanent peace in the region Turkish President Abdullah Gul told a joint press conference with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas following their meeting at the Cankaya Presidential Palace in

Gul said Turkish public reacted against the developments that took place in Gaza and the Turkish government as the representative of the public exerted efforts in order to put an end to the ongoing crisis.

"I am happy that I had the chance to discuss the situation in Gaza in detail with Mr. Abbas today. We will continue to be in close contact and we will carry out our activities in a determined way from now on" Gul said adding Turaaa would keep on sending humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Abbas told the conference that he hoped to see a Palestinian "government of unity or reconciliation" that would "give no pretext to Israel" to maintain its crippling blockade of Gaza.

But he rejected a call for a new body to represent the Palestinians saying his Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) -- the cornerstone of the Palestinian Authority -- remains "the house of Palestinians".

Several Palestinian nationalist groups notably as Abbas’s own Fatah party make up the PLO but is not among them.

"All organizations that wish to participate in the PLO must first accept its statutes" Abbas said. "Once a member of the PLO a movement can always reform it from top to bottom if it holds a majority."

ARAB PEACE PLAN
Israel has "no other choice" than to embrace the Arab Peace Initiative set out in 2002 if it wants to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Abbas was also quoted by Anatolian Agency as saying during a meeting with Turkish Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan.

Abbas pointed to the Arab League initiative revived in March 2007 at a summit in Riyadh as the best way forward in the Middle East.

"Israel has no other choice than to accept the Arab peace plan" he said.

The Arab Peace Initiative would see all Arab nations establish normal relations with Israel in return for an Israeli pullout from occupied lands and the creation of a Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem.

While citing "positive aspects" in the initiative Israel never formally accepted it chiefly because it refers to a right of return for Palestinians made refugees by the 1948 founding of the Jewish state.

Promoted by Saudi Arabia the initiative was embraced by all Arab League member nations at a summit in Beirut in March 2002. Abbas said Turaaa -- which is not a league member -- supports it.

MEETING WITH ERDOGAN
Abbas met Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in late on Friday. The two discussed the recent developments in Israel-Palestinian conflict and progress in Gaza truce talks in their meeting.

Erdogan and Abbas also hold a "comprehensive discussion" on the process to clinch a deal between two rival Palestinian fractions the prime minister's office said in a statement on Saturday.

"In the meeting the current developments in the Palestinian-Israel conflict and as a result steps that could be taken to ensure a permanent truce in Gaza the latest efforts to secure unity among Palestinian groups were reviews thoroughly" the statement was quoted as saying by the state-run Anatolian Agency.

has repeatedly stressed that ending hostilities between the Islamist movement which controls the Gaza Strip and Abbas's West Bank-based Fatah movement is critical if the Palestinian desire for statehood is to be realized.

"Prime Minister Erdogan and President Abbas agreed that Turaaa should maintain its contributions to efforts to ensure a sustainable cease-fire to disaaaaa of humanitarian aid to Gaza and to Egypt-led negotiations to provide national compromise in Palestine. They also reiterated their determination to work together in an influential way" it added.

Turaaa assumed an active diplomatic role during the recent war in Gaza acting as a mediator between exiled leaders and Egyptian officials who sought a ceasefire deal.

Erdogan strongly criticized Israel a close ally of Turaaa during the 22-day offensive. Last week he stormed out from a heated debate on the issue at an international forum in Switzerland after clashing with Israeli President Shimon Peres.