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Turkey: No peace in the Middle East when Israel occupies Jerusalem

May 13, 2014 at 11:41 am

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said that peace in the Middle East is not achievable because Israel continues to occupy Palestinian lands.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the “International Meeting on the Question of Jerusalem” in Ankara, Turkish media reported Davutoğlu saying that Jerusalem is Palestinian land and the continued Israeli occupation of the holy city is “illegal”.

The head of Turkish foreign policy expressed his happiness that his country is hosting a conference about the defence of Palestinian rights in the context of the UN announcing 2014 as the year of solidarity with the Palestinian people.

But he warned that, “Nobody can take sole authority over Jerusalem.”

He called for identifying the legal status of the holy city according to the principles of international law, which considers it an occupied city. “We should be aware of the areas of ethical and ontological, cultural and political responsibility for Jerusalem,” he said.

However, Davutoğlu questioned whether any of the international resolutions regarding the Palestinian tragedy since 1948 are even useful.

Pointing out that Palestine has been occupied ever since that time, he asked: “If the UN decisions are not being implemented, then why they were taken in the first place?”

He called for the international community to organise fundraising campaigns in order to help Palestinians suffering under the Israeli occupation. He added that any nation that ignores the importance of Jerusalem is “attacking the conscience of humanity”.