Turkish demonstrators poured onto streets across the country on Tuesday to protest U.S. President Donald Trump’s long-awaited Middle East peace plan, which imposes strict conditions for Palestinians but grants broad control to the Israeli government.
Dozens of protesters and members of non-governmental organizations gathered in front of the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, holding placards and shouting slogans decrying the proposal that designates Jerusalem as "Israel's undivided capital."
Many protesters at the rally held placards bearing slogans reading, "Jerusalem belongs to Islam."
On Tuesday, Trump announced his plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace at a White House event with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu standing at his side.
Although Trump's stated aim was to end decades of conflict, the plan he advanced favored Israel, underscored by the absence of Palestinians from Trump's announcement.
Jerusalem is sacred to both Muslims and Jews, as it includes sites known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif (The Noble Sanctuary), al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the rock, as well as an ancient Jewish temple.
"Trump’s so-called peace plan dubbed the 'Deal of the Century' is in Israel's favour and against the Palestinian people,"a protester said.
The so-called peace plan unilaterally annuls previous UN resolutions on the Palestinian issue and suggests giving Israel almost everything they have been demanding.
International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as "occupied territories" and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity there illegal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the U.S. has set certain conditions on Palestinians for the start of negotiations, including recognizing the Jewish state, recognizing Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem and giving up the absolute right to return.
He said the U.S. has demanded that Palestine disarm Gaza, drop payments to Palestinian detainees and martyrs’ families, calling them terrorists, stop filing complaints at the International Criminal Court and not become a member of an international organization without Israel's approval.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called Middle East peace plan ignores Palestinians' rights and attempts to legitimize Israel's occupation, said Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday.Answering the questions of reporters on a return flight from his Africa tour, Erdogan said the plan will not serve peace and solution in the region. It ignores Palestinians' rights and attempts to legitimize Israel's occupation, he stressed."Jerusalem is sacred for Muslims and Trump's so-called peace plan proposing to leave Jerusalem to Israel is never acceptable," Erdogan added.On Tuesday, Trump released his oft-delayed plan to end the Israel-Palestine dispute in the White House where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was present, while Palestinian authorities were not represented.During the news conference, Trump referred to Jerusalem as "Israel's undivided capital".Palestine's Hamas decried the terms of the agreement saying: "This deal doesn't worth the paper it's written on and Jerusalem will remain for Palestinians."‘Jerusalem belongs to Islam’: Thousands across Turkey protest Trump's Mideast planAstana, SochiErdogan also criticized Russia's attitude on Syria, particularly on Idlib.He said there is no such thing as the Astana process anymore, adding, “We should see what Turkey, Russia and Iran can do to revive it.”If Turkey and Russia are loyal partners, it should reveal its attitude accordingly over Syria and Turkey, Erdogan said."If Russia abides by agreements [on Syria], so will we, but for now, Russia does not stick to neither Astana nor Sochi [agreements]."In September 2018, Turkey and Russia in Sochi agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.But more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in attacks by the regime and Russian forces in the zone since then, as the ceasefire continues to be violated.In a fresh move, Turkey announced on Jan. 10 that a new ceasefire in Idlib would start just after midnight on Jan. 12.But the regime and Iran-backed terrorist groups continued their ground attacks.More than 1 million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks over the last year.Since the eruption of the bloody civil war in Syria in 2011, Turkey has taken in some 3.7 million Syrians who fled their country, making it the world’s top refugee-hosting country.Coronavirus outbreakOn the coronavirus outbreak in China, Erdogan said Turkey is not in any trouble.He said all kinds of measures and steps are taken by the authorities.The death toll in China from the novel coronavirus outbreak has climbed to 132, the National Health Commission said Wednesday.Some 5,974 confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus, also known as 2019-nCoV, have been reported in China.It was reported that a total of 9,239 people were suspected of being infected with the virus.The virus, which originated in Wuhan, has spread across 30 provinces in the country.Tens of cases have also been reported in Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Thailand, the U.S., Singapore, France, Germany, Malaysia, Australia and Vietnam.Australia scientists to share lab-grown coronavirus to hasten vaccine effortsUAE confirms new coronavirus case in family arriving from ChinaDeath toll in China’s coronavirus outbreak rises to 132, confirmed cases reach 6,000
President Erdoğan slams Trump's so-called deal on Mideast
The Arab League will convene an urgent ministerial-level meeting Saturday to discuss the so-called Middle East peace plan released by U.S. President Donald Trump.Palestinian news agency WAFA said Wednesday that Diab al-Louh, Palestine’s ambassador to Egypt, who is also the permanent representative of Palestine at the Arab League, officially asked the league to hold an extraordinary session at the level of ministers with the participation of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.Louh said Arab countries should stand united in the face of all plans that ignore the Palestinian issue and eliminate a two-state solution.He said these plans attempt to eliminate the opportunity to establish an independent Palestinian state.Trump unveiled the controversial plan on Tuesday at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side. The so-called peace plan offered everything the far-right Israelis have been demanding, giving Palestinians nothing but vague economic promises and the tiniest glimmer of hope for statehood.Trump tied Palestinian statehood to "firm rejection of terrorism" while Netanyahu listed a number of impossible criteria such as disarming Hamas, demilitarizing Gaza, recognizing the Jewish state and Jewish sovereignty over Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and other strategic areas in order for negotiations on statehood to even start with Palestinians. Roughly 650,000 Israeli Jews currently live on more than 100 settlements built since 1967, when Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem.Palestinians insist on regaining the entire West Bank along with the Gaza Strip for the establishment of a future Palestinian state.International law views both the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied territories and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity there illegal.*Writing by Dilara Hamit
Arab League to hold urgent meeting on Mideast plan
A South African media advocacy group on Tuesday described U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan as a crazy move meant to legitimize the occupied Palestinian territories by Israel which is similar to apartheid.“Undoubtedly, masses of Palestinians in the occupied territories and millions of their compatriots living in squalor as refugees across the Arab world would be appalled if not livid that the Trump administration has announced a process to extinguish their legitimate rights by gifting the occupying colonial regime with its so-called ‘deal of the century’,” Iqbal Jassat, executive member of the Media Review Network (MRN), told Anadolu Agency.Jassat said Trump’s decision to hand complete control of Jerusalem to Israel along with Syria's Golan Heights implies he has now stripped Palestinians of all rights.‘‘Rights including the Right of Return of Palestinian refugees, the right to freedom, right to justice and right to equality and dignity, which are all sacrosanct, have just been trampled under by Trump in collusion with an over-zealous [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu,” he said in a reaction statement.Jassat further described Trump’s announcement as the latest betrayal of Palestine, and it has not only brought shame to America, but has also exposed the hypocrisy of U.S. allies in Europe and the Middle East.“Their inability to challenge his repugnant abuse of power is confirmation of their supportive role in allowing Israel's persecution and oppression of Palestinians.”On Tuesday, Trump released his often-delayed plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during a press conference at the White House, where he was hosting Netanyahu, while Palestinian authorities were not represented.The Palestinian group Hamas decried the terms of the agreement, saying: "This deal isn’t worth the paper it's written on and Jerusalem will remain for Palestinians."
South African group slams Trump’s Mideast peace plan