Turkish Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan called on Wednesday for an end to Gaza offensive, saying the tragedy cannot be allowed to continue any longer, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

Toptan made such remarks at the inauguration of the extraordinary meeting of the executive board of Parliamentary Union of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) that kicked off on Wednesday in the biggest city of Istanbul.

"The condition of Palestinians, which had already been bad, became worse in Gaza Strip which had been under the attacks of Israel since December 27, 2008," said Toptan, adding that the infrastructure, which was already harmed badly due to previous Israeli attacks, had nearly damaged now.

"Water and electricity network almost collapsed, hospitals were not efficient for the injured. Thousands of Palestinians lost their houses due to Israeli attacks and many civilians including women and children were killed brutally," said Toptan.

Toptan said that it is the time to find an urgent and an acceptable solution to the bleeding wound, saying that operations carried out by Israel have seriously damaged initiatives and hopes for peace, stepped up violence in the region and led to new areas of anger.

"Endeavors of the international community did not yield expected results despite those developments that overshadow efforts for peace," said Toptan, adding that as the representatives of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC would exert efforts to establish an atmosphere that would yield tangible results.

Also attending the meeting, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said that a cease-fire must be declared immediately.

Larijani said that Gaza was not a regional problem, but a humanity disaster, adding that what was happening in Gaza was destruction and a crime against humanity.

Parliament speakers from Islamic nations are now meeting in Istanbul to discuss the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Representatives from about 30 of the 57 nations in the Organization of the Islamic Conference are expected to issue a joint declaration condemning the violence in Gaza after the meeting.

(Xinhua News Agency January 15, 2009)