President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Israel enforced terror in Palestine and Turkey would do whatever is necessary within the legal framework if international organizations failed to take action on Jerusalem.
“We are calling on all countries who are members of the United Nations. Turkey will do whatever is necessary within the legal frame if the United Nations and Security Council fail to take action on Jerusalem,” Erdoğan said.
“We will not abandon Jerusalem. We will not stop defending Palestine. Turkey’s stance on the Jerusalem matter is quite clear. To recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is to reward Israel,” he added.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision last week to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The dramatic shift in U.S. policy has drawn a storm of condemnation and protest across the Arab and Muslim world.
“We count every hand that extends toward Jerusalem as extending toward Istanbul. Palestine has become what Israel was in 1947. Israel is a country that uses state terror. We recently saw 20 terrorist Israeli soldiers dragging a Palestinian child. Does the U.S. and Trump not see this? Israel targets women, children and the disabled, and the U.S. turns a blind eye,” Erdoğan said.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) responded to the U.S. move by recognizing East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem, occupied by Israel since 1967, might eventually serve as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.
