Muslim countries must act united and oppose Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday after talks in Egypt.
Regional powers Egypt and Turkey condemned the Israeli plan on Friday. Ankara said it marked a new phase in what it called Israel's "genocidal and expansionist" policy, calling for global measures to stop its implementation.
Israel denies this description of its actions in Gaza. Speaking at a joint press conference in El Alamein with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, after also meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Fidan said the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) had been called to an emergency meeting.
Fidan said that Israel's policy aims to force the Palestinians from their lands through starvation and permanently occupy Gaza, adding that countries no longer have any reason to continue supporting Israel.
Israel denies it aims to cause a hunger crisis in Gaza and says the Palestinian militant group Hamas - designated a terrorist organization by the US and EU - can end the war by surrendering.
"What is happening today is a very dangerous development... not only for the Palestinian people or neighboring countries," Abdelatty said, adding that Israel's plans are "unacceptable."
Abdelatty said he is in full agreement with Turkey on the Gaza issue and referred to a statement released on Saturday by the OIC Ministerial Committee, which condemned Israel's plan.
The OIC committee said Israel's plan constitutes "a dangerous and unacceptable escalation, a flagrant violation of international law and an attempt to strengthen the illegal occupation", warning that it would "destroy any chance for peace".
Mediation teams from Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been working for months to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The OIC called on world powers and the UN Security Council to "assume their legal and humanitarian responsibilities and take urgent action to stop" Israel's plan for Gaza City, while ensuring immediate accountability for what it called Israel's violation of international law./ REL
