Turkish FM slams Israeli blockade of Gaza

RABAT (A.A) - Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Wednesday urged Israel to end its seige on Gaza, saying that the blockade is unacceptable. "We cannot accept or tolerate the sufferings of our Palestinian brothers and sisters who live in an open-air prison in Gaza," Davutoglu told his Arab counterparts in a Rabat meeting of the Turkish-Arab Cooperation Forum.       Davutoglu said negotiations between Palestine and Israel could only prove successful if they were conducted on a basis that provided an equal status for both of the parties. "Israelis enjoy the privileges of being a state for 63 years now but our Palestinian brothers are deprived of the very same right. This is an injustice which needs to be fixed at once. It would be more realistic approach to continue the negotiations on a basis of two equal states," Davutoglu said. Davutoglu said Turkey would continue exerting efforts to end "this humanitarian tragedy." "As the Turkish-Arab Cooperation Forum, we are sending a strong message to Israel to end its siege on Gaza immediately and unconditionally," he said.