The Turkish foreign ministry on Thursday rejected the bill that was passed by the Israeli parliament on Tuesday requiring 80 deputies to approve any change to Jerusalem’s municipal borders.
The legislation, which is non-binding, also allows some Palestinian neighborhoods beyond Israel’s "separation wall" such as Kufr Aqab and the Shuafat refugee camp to be brought under a separate municipal structure within the Israeli sovereignty.
The ministry said in a written statement that these illegitimate steps taken by Israel violates the final communique of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) extraordinary summit held on Dec. 13, 2017 and the UN General Assembly’s resolution stating that “any decisions and actions which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void.”
Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law.
The bill approved by the Knesset (Israeli parliament) is a step to damage regional peace and stability, the statement added.
On Dec. 6, Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, sparking angry demonstrations in many Muslim countries and worldwide condemnation.
An extraordinary OIC summit was held in Istanbul on Dec. 13 with the initiation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, where East Jerusalem was declared the capital of Palestine.
The matter was then brought to the UN General Assembly at a rare emergency special session and a resolution was adopted which rejected and condemned Trump’s decision.
A total of 128 members voted in favor of the resolution, nine countries voted against and 35 others abstained.
