Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lambasted US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace as “absolutely unacceptable” in comments published Wednesday, AFP reported.
“Jerusalem is sacred for Muslims. The plan to give Jerusalem to Israel is absolutely unacceptable. This plan ignores Palestinians’ rights and is aimed at legitimizing Israel’s occupation,” Erdoğan said, as quoted by CNN Türk.
“The plan outlined will not serve peace or bring about a solution,” he said.
Trump on Tuesday presented the long-awaited plan aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying Jerusalem would remain Israel’s “undivided capital.”
As part of the plan Palestinian statehood would be based on a series of strict conditions — including requiring the state to be “demilitarized.”
Turkey-Israel relations are tense; Erdoğan regards himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause.
When Washington recognized the capital of Israel as Jerusalem in 2017 and moved its embassy there, Turkish officials repeatedly criticized Trump’s decision.