Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said that there are attempts to impose a unilateral fait accompli on Jerusalem in reference to the recent US move against the holy city.
This was voiced in a letter delivered by Turkey’s minister of youth and sports on behalf of Erdogan at the conclusion of the Jerusalem Islamic World’s Youth Capital for 2018 forum in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Erdogan said “There are attempts to subject the holy city of Jerusalem which has been a symbol of peace stability and coexistence for centuries to a unilateral fait accompli in a way that violates international law” according to Anadolu agency.
Erdogan stressed in his letter that the Islamic world totally rejects the US administration’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital saying that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Palestine.
The Turkish president praised the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) effort to organize the Jerusalem Islamic World’s Youth Capital for 2018 forum calling it a step on the right path.
For his part the Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas in a speech renewed his rejection of the US president Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
“We are the decision-makers. No-one can force us to do anything” Abbas said “And the US is no longer a mediator in the peace talks.”
The Jerusalem Islamic World’s Youth Capital for 2018 forum kicked off on Tuesday in the presence of 20 ministers from the OIC member countries in addition to senior delegations from other 30 countries.
The OIC in December 2017 during a summit in Istanbul announced Occupied Jerusalem as the Islamic world’s capital for 2018 in response to Trump’s recognition of the holy city as the capital of Israel.
