Turkey rejects plans to create a safe zone in Gaza when fighting in the enclave ends, President Tayyip Erdogan said today, adding that such a plan was “disrespectful” to Palestinians.

Reuters reported last week that Israel has forwarded plans for the buffer zone to several Arab states and Turkey.

Speaking to reporters on his plane back from Qatar, Erdogan said the future of Gaza after the war will be decided by the Palestinian people and that Israel must return the lands it holds, according to Haberturk TV and others.

Erdogan also said that Western support for Israel, particularly from the United States, has caused the current situation in the region and warned Israel not to go after Hamas members in Turkey, saying that Israel will pay a very heavy price if it does. something like that.

The Turkish president also said he is waiting for steps from the US Congress on the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara after submitting a bill to the Turkish parliament to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership.

“As president, I did my part, but I also expect something. The US should pass this (F-16 sales to Turkey) through its Congress so that we can take these steps at the same time,” Erdogan told reporters accompanying him on the flight back from Qatar, according to the Haberturk network and others.