Erdogan says Turkey to open embassy in East Jerusalem

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he will open an embassy in East Jerusalem to protest against the decision by US President Donald Trump to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

“We have already declared East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state but we haven’t been able to open our embassy there because Jerusalem is currently under occupation,” Erdogan says at a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) meeting in Karaman according to the Hurriyet Daily News.

“God willing, the day is close when officially, with God’s permission, we will open our embassy there,” he says.

Seeking to steer often disunited Muslim nations into a coordinated response on the changed US policy, Erdogan last week chaired a summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) where leaders declared East Jerusalem to be the capital of a Palestinian state.