When the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly upgraded Palestine to a nonmember observer state in December 2012, the foreign minister of Turkey did something unusual. Ahmet Davutoglu, who was moved to tears during a visit to the Gaza Strip in 2012, got up and approached Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and embraced him to the thunderous clapping of the UN delegates.
Turkey, the only majority Muslim country that is part of the US-led NATO alliance, has been a staunch supporter of Palestine and the Palestinians. It has supported both Hamas and the PLO and has not wavered in providing support, especially to Jerusalem. Turkish tourists are among the biggest single group of visitors that bring in revenue for Palestinian-run hotels and restaurants in Jerusalem.
