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Turkish president censures Trump's Jerusalem al-Quds announcement

Saturday, 09 December 2017 4:37 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 09 December 2017 6:11 PM ]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (AFP photo)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed US President Donald Trump’s announcement on recognizing occupied Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of the Israeli regime, saying the move was a "provocation."

“This decision is entirely provocation,” said Erdogan on Saturday, while urging Muslims who revere eastern Jerusalem al-Quds, as it hosts Islam’s third holiest site, to be careful to “not give an excuse to the occupiers by being provoked when they are completely right.”

Turkey has called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss Washington's move. Ankara had warned before Trump made his declaration on December 6 that any change in the status quo of the city would lead to a new catastrophe in the Middle East.

Erdogan said the OIC summit in Turkey on Wednesday would convey the message that Washington should swiftly reverse its decision.

“I believe that the (OIC) summit and the unity that will be shown in that summit will convey the necessary message to some people. They need to turn back before it's too late,” Erdogan said, adding, “We will never give our consent to this decision that tramples Muslim and Christian rights on Jerusalem [al-Quds].”

Sources in the Turkish presidency said Saturday that Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron had spoken on the phone over the case. They said the two leaders agreed to work together to persuade the US to reconsider its decision.

Jerusalem al-Quds is under Israel’s control. The international community has designated the regime’s grip on the eastern part of the city, which came after the Six-Day War of 1967, as illegal while urging talks to decide the fate of the entire city in any future peace deal.

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