"The time has come to show solidarity with the Palestinians and help them to live in peace and dignity"

In a report published Saturday in the Turkish daily, Today's Zaman, the Turkish Ambassador to the UN expressed his support for Palestinian statehood, urging the international community to follow suit.

"The time has come to show solidarity with the Palestinians and help them to live in peace and dignity," said the Turkish Ambassador to the UN Ertuğrul Apakan during a UN Security Council debate on the Middle East on Thursday.

According to the report in Today's Zaman, Apakan said that if the Palestinians prove they are ready to become a full UN member, instead of maintaining their current observer status, the international community should not "turn a blind eye to their just and legitimate appeal."

“Through their state building efforts, the Palestinian Authority has proven to all the skeptics that they deserve to attain their decades-long target of internationally recognized statehood, even though they continue to suffer under occupation,” said Apakan, according to the report.