Turkey vows to continue Jerusalem push until US steps back

ANKARA

The efforts of the Islamic world will continue until the United States steps back from its unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Dec. 14, a day after the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) declared East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

“It’s not possible to approve a decision that is rejected by the entire world. It’s not implementable. There is no place for a fait accompli. This decision should be changed. We will continue to work with determination for the U.S. to take a step back and change this decision,” Çavuşoğlu told reporters at a press conference with visiting Maltese Foreign Minister Carmelo Abela.

On Dec 6, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that his country recognizes Jerusalem as the “undivided” capital of Israel and instructed the removal of the embassy from Tel Aviv to the city, sparking anger among many Muslims.

In response, an emergency summit of the OIC initiated by Turkey on Dec. 13 declared East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital and called on all countries to recognize Palestine as a sovereign state.

“Very strong messages from the summit were delivered. We will closely follow them up,” Çavuşoğlu said, underlining that not only Muslims but also Christians and some Jews also did not approve of this move.

Unlike Trump’s move, the OIC decision complies with U.N. resolutions, he added.

“We have to succeed in this. When we can do so, of course embassies will be opened in East Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine. We have to be successful in this. A fire was lit at the OIC summit yesterday and we have declared East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestine,” Çavuşoğlu said.