Turkey mulls three-phase roadmap for Jerusalem

Turkey will gear up diplomatic efforts to increase the number of countries recognizing Palestine as a state and to strengthen its economy as part of a three-phase roadmap for its Jerusalem bid following a U.N. General Assembly vote that overwhelmingly voted against Washington’s recognition of the holy city as Israel’s capital. According to Turkish officials, Turkey’s roadmap consists of the following steps: – Turkey will launch fresh diplomatic initiatives to increase the number of countries that recognize Palestine as a state and East Jerusalem as its capital. Currently, 137 countries recognize it as a state, and the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) declared East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine. – Efforts for the protection of the status of the Haram al-Sharif, one of the most sacred holy sites in Islam, will be put forth.  – Financial funds, particularly from the Islamic Development Bank, will be gathered to strengthen the economy of Jerusalem and the Palestinians. A close cooperation with Jordan will be provided to this end. An emergency summit of the OIC, presided by the term president Turkey, was held on Dec. 13 in Istanbul to recognize East Jerusalem as the occupied capital of the State of Palestine in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump’s unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. Immediately after the Istanbul summit, the U.N. General Assembly convened and voted by a majority of 128 votes to denounce Trump’s move and to focus on a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Turkey’s expectation from the U.S. is to withdraw its Jerusalem decision and cancel plans to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Turkish officials have said.

 

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