Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on Saturday said that the entire world will soon recognize the state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Speaking at a Justice and Development (AK) Party event in the northwestern province of Edirne, Yıldırım said, “In the near future, the entire world will recognize the state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital. and this problem will cease to exist.”
"Both the Muslim world and the Christian world, in short humanity, looked out for the rightful cause of the Palestinians, which has been going on for years."
Tension has mounted in the Palestinian territories since Dec. 6, when U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, sparking angry demonstrations in the West Bank and Gaza.
Since then, at least 15 Palestinians have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- in fierce clashes with Israeli security forces.
Jerusalem remains at the core of the Middle East conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- might eventually serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.
“relations [with the U.S.] have moved one step further towards normalization” after both the countries lifted restrictions on visa services,' said Yıldırım.
“The visa issue has finally been resolved,” Yildirim said at the 6th ordinary congress of ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party.
On Thursday, the U.S. Embassy in Turkey announced the resumption of full visa services after nearly two months.
In a reciprocal move, Turkey also lifted restrictions on visa services for American citizens, according to the Turkish mission in the U.S.
On Oct. 8, the embassy suspended non-immigrant visas to Turkish nationals following the arrest of a local employee working at the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, prompting a tit-for-tat response from Ankara.
