Turkish Prime Minister Reiterates Support for Palestine Amid Jerusalem Crisis

TEHRAN (defapress)- Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim repeated Ankara’s commitment to support Palestine amid the political crisis sparked by the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

News ID: 67572

Date: 17 December 2017 - 19:45

“There is no country besides Turkey which has opened a mission for Palestine at the embassy level... We have supported Palestine and Jerusalem on all international platforms and we will continue to do so,” Yildirim said, speaking at the event of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, as quoted by the Anadolu news agency.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday signaled his readiness to appeal to the UN in a bid to try to cancel Washington's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

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".

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.