Turkey's CHP party calls on gov't to open embassy to Palestine in East Jerusalem

"I want the government to implement this decision and open an embassy in East Jerusalem," Kılıçdaroğlu said
Thursday, 14 December 2017 23:05

The Turkish parliamentary main opposition party Republican People's Party (CHP) calls on the Turkish government to implement the decisions of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit and to open its embassy to Palestine in East Jerusalem, the party's leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said Thursday.

On Wednesday, representatives of 57 countries gathered in İstanbul for an extraordinary OIC summit on the issue of Washington's recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. In its declaration, the OIC recognised East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine.

"I want the government to implement this decision and open an embassy in East Jerusalem," Kılıçdaroğlu said.

On December 6, US President Donald Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and instructed the US State Department to launch the process of moving the US Embassy, which is currently located in Tel Aviv, to Jerusalem. The step has prompted criticism from a number of states, first and foremost Middle Eastern states and Palestine and triggered a wave of protests in the region.