Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan blasted Israel Tuesday and said recognition of a Palestinian state is an "obligation," as he kicked off in Egypt a tour to bolster Ankara's ties with new Arab regimes.
Addressing Arab foreign ministers as he started a three-nation Arab Spring tour, Erdogan also said governments should not use force to repress the legitimate demands of their people.
And he reiterated that strained ties with Israel will not improve unless the Jewish state apologises over the death of nine Turks killed in a raid on an aid flotilla that tried to break the Israeli-imposed blockade of Gaza.
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"Recognising the Palestinian state is not an option, it is an obligation," Erdogan said at Arab League headquarters in Cairo, as the Palestinians seek support for a UN membership bid they plan to launch next week.
"Before the end of this year we will see Palestine at the United Nations in a very different situation," he said. "It is time for the flag of Palestine to be hoisted at the United Nations."
PALESTINIANS TO IGNORE U.S. & ISRAEL
The Palestinians are preparing to submit a formal request to become the 194th member of the United Nations when the General Assembly begins its meetings on September 20, despite US and Israeli opposition.
US President Barack Obama on Monday said it was a "distraction" that would not result in viable statehood, while Russia said it will back the Palestinians as the European Union remains divided.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was dispatching two envoys to the Middle East for talks with Israel and the Palestinian Authority, stressing again the need to for renewed peace talks.
"I'm sending David Hale and Dennis Ross back to the region in the next days to meet with both Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu and President (Mahmud) Abbas," Clinton said.
"The only way of getting a lasting solution is through direct negotiations between the parties and the route to that lies in Jerusalem and Ramallah, not in New York," she said.
Late on Monday, a small group of Arab foreign ministers led by Qatar's top diplomat agreed to marshal support for the Palestinian bid.
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said as he chaired Tuesday's Arab League meeting that the Palestinian cause "is the main challenge" facing the 22-member bloc.
"We thank all the countries that have recognised the Palestinian state and we look forward to (further) support for the Palestinian bid for UN membership," Sheikh Hamad said.
Some 127 countries recognised Palestine as an independent state and the Palestinians hope to garner more than 160 votes at the General Assembly for their cause and would not spare an effort to seek full UN membership.
Erdogan, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause who has become a strident critic of longtime ally Israel, said Turkey and the Arabs must "work hand in hand with our Palestinian brothers."
"The Palestinian cause is the cause of human dignity," said Erdogan.
Turning to Israel, Erdogan said: "It is out of the question for Turkey to normalise ties with Israel" unless it apologises for last year's deadly flotilla raid, pays compensation and lifts a blockade imposed on Gaza.
"Israel sees itself above the law," he said, accusing the Jewish state of "turning a deaf ear" to Turkey's demands.
Earlier this month Ankara expelled the Israeli ambassador and suspended all military ties and defence trade over Israel's refusal to apologise for the flotilla raid, in which nine Turks were killed.
ERDOGAN TOURS NORTH AFRICA
Much admired on the Arab street, Erdogan is on an Arab Spring tour of Egypt, Tunisia and Libya where pro-democracy uprisings unseated veteran autocratic leaders.
About 3,000 people greeted him at Cairo airport when he arrived late Monday with his wife, children, six cabinet ministers and a huge business delegation to bolster ties with the most populous Arab nation.
On Tuesday he said at the Arab League that "the legitimate demands of the people cannot be repressed with force and in blood," in reference to the uprisings that swept Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and continue to rock Syria.
"Freedom and democracy and human rights must be a united slogan for the future of our people," he said.
Later he said the revolution that ousted veteran president Hosni Mubarak in February had been a "historic" one, adding that Turkey supports Egypt "in good times and bad times."
"History was made at Tahrir Square and this means a lot to us," he said of the central Cairo landmark where protesters camped for 18 days until they forced Mubarak to quit.
"Each birth has complications... but we in Turkey believe that the Egyptian people will overcome successfully all the obstacles," he added.
He also met Egypt's new military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi and Prime Minister Essam Sharaf to discuss building "strategic ties" between the two countries and bolstering economic cooperation.
Sharaf told a joint news conference they had agreed to raise the volume of bilateral trade from its current level of three billion dollars annually to five billion in the next few years.
Sharaf said closer cooperation was also in the interest of the region, adding that Turkey can be "Egypt's gateway to Europe" and Egypt can be "Turkey's gateway to Africa."
