President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said yesterday a fait accompli by Zionist groups attempting to make Jerusalem Israel's capital will not be allowed, recalling the recent meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), where Muslim countries strongly expressed their reaction against Donald Trump's recent decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.
"We don't recognize your decision. If you try to carry out a Zionist operation on Jerusalem, it will cost you dearly," the president said in a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) congress in central Karaman province.
Erdoğan also stated that not only Muslims but many countries from around the world stood against Trump's controversial decision, adding that Turkey will open an embassy in eastern Jerusalem as it is recognized as the Palestinian capital.
"I called the pope and confirmed that he shares our opinion. I invited Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, to the meeting, and he also published his message on the issue. You cannot attribute Jerusalem, a Muslim capital, to Jewish people. We will open our embassy in [eastern] Jerusalem soon," he said.
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım yesterday also slammed Trump's "miscalculation" in deciding to recognize Jerusalem as Israeli's capital.
"Those who miscalculate Jerusalem in this region will eventually regret it," said Binali Yıldırım, addressing the AK Party's provincial congress in Turkey's central Anatolian province of Çankırı.
Meanwhile, thousands came together in Ankara and Diyarbakır provinces in protest against Trump's decision. It was reported that more than 100 NGOs attended the meeting in the capital.
