Gul, Babacan continues diplomatic efforts to halt Israel's attacks on Gaza strip

President Abdullah Gul yesterday telephoned his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak as part of diplomatic efforts to halt Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni also yesterday called her Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan, who reportedly urged Israel to halt the attacks at once, warning that they could harm security in the entire region. Babacan also telephoned Turkish scholar Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, who heads the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), to urge the OIC to take immediate action. In related news, hundreds of Turks yesterday held rallies in Istanbul and Ankara to protest the Israeli attacks.