Erdogan urges world to recognize E. Jerusalem as Palestinian capital

Published time: 13 Dec, 2017 09:26Edited time: 13 Dec, 2017 09:55

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Washington to turn back from its “unlawful and provocative decision” on Jerusalem, and urged world states to recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

WATCH LIVE: Organization of Islamic Cooperation meets in Istanbul to discuss Jerusalem

President Erdogan also called for the speeding-up of the process of incorporating Palestine into international accords. He was speaking to fellow Muslim leaders in Istanbul, at the emergency Islamic summit, called in response to Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

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Erdogan reportedly also condemned the "violence shown by Israel," extending his condolences to the ‘martyrs’ who have fallen protecting the State of Palestine.

Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu voiced similar calls to “all other countries.”

"Firstly, the Palestinian state must be recognized by all other countries. We must all strive together for this," Cavusoglu said as foreign ministers convened ahead of the full summit meeting in Istanbul.

"We must encourage other countries to recognize the Palestinian state on the basis of its 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital," he noted.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has described Washington’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital as Trump’s “gift to the Zionist movement,” noting that extremists could use the move to “turn a political struggle into a religious one.”

Trump's controversial decision triggered protests across Muslim countries, amid warnings from Ankara that the US move would plunge the world "into a fire with no end."

Abbas said on Wednesday that he would seek a United Nations Security Council resolution to nullify Washington’s decision on Jerusalem, calling it the "greatest crime" and a striking violation of international law.

"Jerusalem is and always will be the capital of Palestine," he told the emergency meeting of Muslim leaders in Turkey, adding that the US was giving away Jerusalem as if it were an American city.

"It crosses all the red lines," he said, as cited by Reuters.