On Friday Turkey strongly condemned the Israeli proposal to build 1,300 apartments in East Jerusalem, throwing a wrench into peace talks, which had resumed in September after an interruption of nearly two years.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Selçuk Ünal said Turkey strongly condemns Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem despite repeated calls from the international community to halt the illegal settlements.
Ünal said such activities would lead to failure in efforts for resumption of peace talks in the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he won’t renew a 10-month ban on construction in West Bank settlements that expired in September, and he will not curb building in East Jerusalem. This week, Israel’s announcement that it is moving ahead with plans for 1,300 new apartments for Jews there set off a harsh public exchange with the US and the EU.
“Attempts to change demographic structure, status and cultural identity of Jerusalem raise concerns,” Ünal stressed, adding that Turkey expects Israel to halt its settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and avoid taking unilateral steps that would negatively affect talks on final status.
via Today’s Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news.
Leave a Reply