Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced to the Palestinian delegation visiting Ankara Jan. 27 the ongoing support for the Palestinians on diplomatic and economic levels, and called for ignoring US threats to halt aid to the Palestinians.

During a Jan. 11 press conference in Ankara, Cavusoglu had said, "If the United States cuts aid to the Palestinians, we will step in because we are here for such circumstances.”

On Dec. 14, Turkey announced its plan to offer $10 million to support the official Palestinian budget. In early February, and in response to the US decision to cut aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki signed an agreement with his Turkish counterpart in which Turkey committed to paying $10 million to support the Palestinian Authority (PA). In May 2017, Turkey had paid a similar amount to the PA.

Palestinian Ambassador to Turkey Fayed Mustafa told Al-Monitor, “In response to the United States recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel [on Dec. 6], Turkey held the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit in Istanbul Dec. 13. Turkey offered direct financial aid worth $10 million to the Palestinian budget. Turkey has supported the Palestinian territories by implementing projects worth $186 million since 2014 such as funding [the construction of] the Tubas Hospital in the West Bank and the Palestine-Turkey Friendship Hospital in the Gaza Strip. Turkey has also built schools, mosques and residential complexes and has renovated homes.”