Egypt’s Mursi may join Erdogan for Gaza visit

PanARMENIAN.Net - Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi may accompany Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his planned visit to the Gaza Strip later in May, a source close to the Turkish government claimed.

According to The Times of Israel, in an interview with a Turkish radio station, writer and researcher Zahid Gul said a Turkish government official hinted to him that the possibility of the two leaders making a joint trip to the Strip has been discussed by his government and officials in Cairo.

Gul added that according to the official, Erdogan also intends to kick-start a number of Turkish-funded projects in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier, Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil announced that the doors are “wide open” for Erdogan to visit Gaza via Sinai.

Although he did not state a definite date, Kandil, in a wide-ranging interview published by Hurriyet Daily News, said that Erdogan “wants to come to Egypt and to go to Gaza. Of course, he’s going to have a very good experience, because seeing things live is much different from watching it on the news or reading the news. Doors are going to be wide open for him, of course.”

Erdogan has for some time expressed his desire to visit Gaza and reportedly plans to travel on or around May 30, the three-year anniversary of the Mavi Marmara incident, in which nine Turkish citizens were killed when Israeli naval commandos came under attack as they intercepted the ship in its attempt to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.

In April, the Turkish PM reportedly refused U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s request to again postpone the visit during a meeting between the two leaders in Istanbul. The Turkish leader had postponed his visit from April to May — so that it would take place after a scheduled meeting in Washington in mid-May.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has also asked Erdogan to delay the visit, saying it could harm relations between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Ismail Radwan, the minister of Religious Endowments in the Gaza Strip, recently claimed that the Hamas government is expecting to host a number of “high-ranking” visitors in the near future. Radwan declined to make public the names of the expected visitors.