Istanbul - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and King
Abdullah of Jordan on Wednesday warned that the US move to recognize
Jerusalem as the capital of Israel would contribute to extremism.
"Ignoring the Palestinian Muslim and Christian rights in Jerusalem
would only fuel further extremism," said Abdullah in Ankara, noting
he expressed this to US President Donald Trump in a phone call on
Tuesday.
"There is no alternative to the two-state solution, and Jerusalem is
key to any peace agreement, and is key to the stability of the entire
region," the king said, stressing that the Palestinians must have
their "capital in East Jerusalem."
Erdogan, who is organizing a meeting of Islamic nations next week in
Istanbul, called for the avoidance of any steps that would change the
legal status of Jerusalem.
"Nobody has the right to play with billions of people's fate for the
sake of personal ambitions. Such a step will only play into the hands
of the terrorist groups," the Turkish leader said.
Separately, in a statement, he called for "the entire world to stand
against this," adding that it was important now for states that did
not yet recognize Palestine to take the formal step.
"Peace for all will only be possible when the Israeli occupation of
East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza ends and Palestinians are free
in their own homeland," Erdogan said.