DUBAI, February 13. /TASS/. Turkey is ready to serve as a mediator and guarantor in efforts to reach a settlement to the conflict between Israel and Palestine, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the World Government Summit in Dubai.

"Israel, if it really wants lasting peace, must abandon its expansionist policy. Any step towards a solution to the [Palestinian problem], made without the creation of a Palestinian state, will be incomplete. The path to peace and tranquility in our region lies through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. We are ready to take responsibility, including as a guarantor and mediator of this process. We will never abandon our Palestinian brothers and sisters," Erdogan said.

According to him, Turkey has so far sent 34 tons of humanitarian supplies to the residents of Gaza and continues providing assistance to the embattled enclave. "I am grateful to all the countries that took the initiative [on Gaza], the countries that adopted it [the resolution] in the UN Security Council. It is necessary to stop the bloodshed in Gaza as soon as possible," the Turkish president said.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, after militants from radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise infiltration from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, killing residents of border settlements and taking numerous hostages. In response, Israel began conducting strikes against the Palestinian enclave as well as certain areas of Lebanon and Syria. On December 1, the Israeli army accused Hamas of violating the truce in force since November 24 and announced that it was resuming hostilities in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian authorities have blamed the United States for the resumption of Israeli aggression.