ISTANBUL, January 26. /TASS/. Lasting peace in the Middle East is possible only through a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Spokesperson Omer Celik said.

"We have discussed the activities that the Board of Peace for Gaza will undertake. We always say that Palestine should be governed by Palestinians. The only path to sustainable peace in the region is through ensuring a permanent ceasefire [in Gaza] and creating a unified Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital within the 1967 borders," Celik told reporters after a meeting of the AKP executive committee chaired by party leader and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

On January 22, representatives of 19 countries signed the charter establishing the Board of Peace for Gaza in a ceremony on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. According to US President Donald Trump, more countries have joined it. While the initiative was established based on an agreement between Israel and the radical Palestinian movement Hamas to govern the enclave, it will also deal with conflicts in other parts of the world as well.