US partner in bloodshed with Jerusalem move: Erdoğan

ISTANBUL  

The U.S. has become a “partner in bloodshed” with its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said.

“With its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the United States has become a partner in the bloodshed,” Erdoğan said at an event marking World Human Rights Day in Ankara on Dec. 11.

“The statement by U.S. President Donald Trump does not bind us, nor does it bind Jerusalem or the Muslim world,” he added.

Erdoğan, who has been among the most vocal leaders against Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, continued his criticism of the U.S.’s decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Recalling that a road map on Jerusalem will be discussed at a summit of the Organization Islamic Conference (OIC) in Istanbul on Dec. 13, which will mark a “turning point,” Erdoğan described the Jerusalem issue as a “litmus test” for all human rights advocates.

“Those who don’t side with the oppressed and the righteous on this issue can have no right to say a word about regional and global peace or on human rights. We will monitor statements about Palestine and Jerusalem and then we will give marks to every country accordingly,” he awdded.

On Dec. 6, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S.’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided” capital, saying the U.S. Embassy would relocate from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The dramatic shift in Washington’s Jerusalem policy has triggered demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq and other Muslim-majority countries.