Erdogan says Turkey will open embassy in East Jerusalem
status of Jerusalem”, without specifically mentioning Mr Trump’s move.
It affirms that “any decisions and actions which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition” of Jerusalem “have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded.”
Diplomats said they expected the United States to use its veto power to block the measure while most, if not all, of the 14 other council members were expected to back the draft resolution.
The status of Jerusalem is one of the most controversial issues in the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. Israel seized control of the eastern part of the city in the 1967 Middle East war and sees the whole of Jerusalem as its undivided capital. Ankara: Turkey intends to open an embassy in East Jerusalem, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, days after leading calls at a summit of Muslim leaders for the world to recognise it as the capital of Palestine.
It was not clear how he would carry out the move, as Israel controls all of Jerusalem and calls the city its indivisible capital. Palestinians want the capital of a future state they seek to be in East Jerusalem, which Israel took in a 1967 war and later annexed in a move not recognised internationally.
The Muslim nation summit was a response to U. S. President Donald Trump’s Dec. 6 decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. His move broke with decades of U. S. policy and international consensus that the city’s status must be left to IsraeliPalestinian peace negotiations.
Erdogan said in a speech to members of his AK Party in the southern province of Karaman that Turkey’s consulate general in Jerusalem was already represented by an ambassador.
“God willing, the day is close when officially, with God’s permission, we will open our embassy there,” Mr Erdogan said. Jerusalem, revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, is home to Islam’s third holiest shrine as well as Judaism’s Western Wall - both in the eastern sector - and has been at the heart of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict for decades.