Turkish PM office says Erdoğan not traveling to Gaza July 5

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Turkish Prime Minister’s office has denied reports that PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Gaza is scheduled for July 5, according to Today’s Zaman.

Israel-based news portal Ynet recently claimed that Erdoğan would visit Gaza July 5-6, basing its report on a Hamas government official. However, a statement released by the Prime Ministry on Thursday, June 27, denied the information, saying that Erdoğan will be in Turkey during the dates in question.

Erdoğan said on Tuesday that despite having to postpone a visit to Gaza planned for June due to the Gezi Park protests, which have shaken the country for more than three weeks, he intends to make the visit soon.

“These [Gezi] events unfortunately led to this postponement. Gaza is ready, but we could not be ready because of these events. We could make a surprise visit at any moment,” the prime minister said after a group meeting of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Parliament.

The visit is believed to strengthen the hand of the Gaza-ruling Hamas party, which is conducting a national reconciliation process with the Fatah party -- the internationally recognized Palestinian authority based in the West Bank. The Fatah authorities are also opposed to such a visit before the reconciliation talks are concluded, something which they have expressed several times in the past few months.