Analyst: Erdogan announces Turkish consulate in Jerusalem as Turkish embassy in Palestine
Perhaps in the formal plane, but Turkey is still the most consistent in its struggle against the U.S. administration’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) declared East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine in the final declaration adopted at the 13 December extraordinary summit as a way to counteract Washington and Tel Aviv, calling on all countries to recognise the State of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital.
Thus, two weeks after the OIC summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Turkey’s consulate general in Jerusalem as the Turkish embassy to Palestine, saying it is already represented by an ambassador. Erdogan also noted that since East Jerusalem is currently occupied by Israel, Turkey still does not install the relevant signboards there, while “East Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine recognized by the entire Muslim world”.
Therefore, if Ankara’s steps are followed by other Arab and Muslim states, the tensions around Jerusalem will further flare up.