Turkish President:

Muslims May Lose Mecca If They Fail to Hold on to Jerusalem

TEHRAN (defapress)- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Muslims may lose Mecca and other holy sites if the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israeli capital isn’t reversed.

News ID: 67562

Date: 17 December 2017 - 12:36

“If we lose Jerusalem then we won’t be able to protect Medina. If we lose Medina – we will lose Mecca and Kaaba,” Erdogan said in a speech at an award ceremony in Istanbul, World News reported.

Erdogan and other Turkish officials, including Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, have been one of the most vocal critics of US President Donald Trump’s controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, as Ankara stressed that it will consider opening an embassy in East Jerusalem once an independent Palestinian state is internationally recognized.

Turkish leader had also slammed Israel as a state defined by "occupation" and "terror", stressing that “The US decision on Jerusalem rewards Israel’s acts of terror".

On Saturday, Erdogan urged the UN Security Council to annul Trump’s decision, as he promised that If the UNSC fails to act on the issue, Turkey will do everything necessary within legal frameworks to fight the US recognition.

"If the [UN Security Council] will not, we will approach relevant authorities within a legal framework," Erdogan said, adding that "Turkey will not stop defending Palestine or Jerusalem just because Israel wants it to.”

US President announced last Wednesday that Washington would be recognizing Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital and ordered that work on the relocation of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to al-Quds begin.

The move was hailed by Israel but condemned by the rest of the international community as one which undermines the peace talks.

Washington’s al-Quds move has raised a chorus of outcry across the international community. The Muslim world, the UN, world leaders from Europe to the Middle East to Australia, and even US allies in the West have criticized the bid, saying it would plunge the already tumultuous region into new upheaval.

Heavy clashes also broke out between Israeli troops and Palestinian protesters after Washington's decision in Jerusalem al-Qud's Old City, Hebron (al-Khalil), Bethlehem and Nablus in the West Bank as well as the besieged Gaza Strip.

According to reports, thousands of Palestinians were wounded by Israeli army's fire during protests against the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, while hundreds more were detained by Israeli forces and police. Also, the clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers left ten dead.

People in different countries have also hit the streets to denounce Trump's recognition of Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in a statement issued following an extraordinary summit in Turkey's Istanbul on Wednesday, declared East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine "under occupation" and urged the US to withdraw from the peace process and back down from its Jerusalem decision.