Ankara to open diplomatic mission in East al-Quds: Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reiterated his country’s support for Palestine in the wake of US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel's capital, stating that Ankara plans to open an embassy in East Jerusalem al-Quds.

“God willing, the day is close when officially, with God's permission, we will open our embassy there,” Erdogan said on Sunday.

The remarks came amid reports that Lebanon and Turkey are considering opening diplomatic missions in the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds in response to Trump’s controversial decision to recognize the whole city as the "capital" of Israel.

In a post on his official Twitter account, Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil described East Jerusalem al-Quds as “the capital of Palestine,” saying he had informed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of his willingness to establish a Lebanese embassy there.

Bassil also noted that Abbas had promised to provide a piece of land for Lebanon's mission in al-Quds.

Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), has also called on the government to open the country's embassy in East Jerusalem al-Quds.

"Turkey should immediately, without wasting time, open its embassy to Palestine in East Jerusalem," Engin Altay, CHP's deputy chairman, said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Sunday once again slammed the US president’s “miscalculation” in deciding to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israeli’s capital.

“Those who miscalculate on Jerusalem al-Quds in this region will eventually regret it,” he pointed out.

On December 6, Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital and relocate the US embassy in occupied lands from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds.

The dramatic shift in Washington’s policy vis-à-vis the city triggered demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Morocco and other Muslim countries.

On December 10, violent clashes erupted outside the US embassy in the Lebanese capital Beirut during a protest against the US decision. Demonstrators burnt tires as well as the US and Israeli flags as they pushed to break through a barbed wire erected by security forces around the embassy complex.

Security forces used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the angry protesters. 

Jerusalem al-Quds remains at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with Palestinians hoping that the eastern part of the city would eventually serve as the capital of a future independent Palestinian state.

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