Turkey says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 'irresponsible'
- Country:
- Turkey
Turkey on Sunday criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "irresponsible" for saying he would annex Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank if he wins Tuesday's election. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the West Bank, which Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war, was Palestinian territory and Israel's occupation violated international law.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu’s irresponsible statement to seek votes just before the Israeli general elections cannot and will not change this fact," Cavusoglu tweeted. Netanyahu asked why he had not declared Israeli sovereignty over large West Bank settlements as Israel has already done in the occupied Golan Heights and East Jerusalem said he was already discussing the move.
"I am going to extend (Israeli) sovereignty and I don't distinguish between settlement blocs and the isolated settlements," he told Israel's Channel 12 News on Saturday. Palestinian leaders reacted angrily, blaming what they said was a failure by world powers to stand up for international law.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman echoed those charges on Sunday. "Will Western democracies react or will they keep appeasing? Shame on them all!" Ibrahim Kalin tweeted. The Palestinians and many countries deem settlements to be illegal under the Geneva conventions that bar settling on land captured in war. Israel disputes this, citing security needs and biblical, historical and political connections to the land.
Erdogan, whose Islamist-rooted AK Party has led Turkey for 16 years, has criticised the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump over its pronounced support for Israel, including Washington's decision to move its Israel embassy to Jerusalem. Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a future state they are seeking. Peace talks with Israel have been frozen since 2014.
(With inputs from agencies.)
- READ MORE ON:
- Benjamin Netanyahu
- Northwest Bank
- West Bank
- EastWest Bank
- Israeli cuisine
- Israeli settlement
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
- Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan
- Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan Stadium
- Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan University
- Animals as Leaders
- World Leaders
- Prime minister
- Donald Trump
- Embassy Theatre
- Central Embassy
- Embassy Suites by Hilton
- Palestinian cuisine
- Palestinian refugees
ALSO READ
"Baseless and fabricated": Pakistan's minister rejects Imran Khan's allegations against military leadership in Toshakhana case
Bhupatinagar blast case: NIA issues summons to 3 TMC leaders
Some leaders quit Cong the moment they receive notices from Central agencies: Venugopal
More Congress leaders will join BJP in Assam after Lok Sabha polls: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma to PTI.
Some Cong. leaders quit after receiving probe agency notices: Venugopal