Turkish president Erdoğan calls Israel 'terror state'

Turkey's president has escalated his vitriol over the U.S decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital
Sunday, 10 December 2017 18:58

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday described Israel as a "terrorist state" and vowed to use all means to fight against the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the country's capital.

"Palestine is an innocent victim... As for Israel, it is a terrorist state, yes, terrorist!” Erdoğan said in a speech in the Central Anatolian province of Sivas, vowing that Turkey "will not leave Jerusalem to the consciousness of a child-killer state."

"We will not abandon Jerusalem to the mercy of a state that kills children."

His speech came days after US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, angering Palestinians and sparking protests in Muslim and Arab countries. Four Palestinians were killed and dozens injured.

An extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is scheduled to be held in İstanbul on Dec. 13, hosting the leaders of Muslim-majority countries. "With the roadmap that we will determine [at the OIC meeting], we will show that the realization of this decision [moving of the embassy] will not be easy at all," Erdoğan said.​