He made the remarks Monday in reaction to Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu statements on annexing Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank if re-elected.
Speaking to reporters ahead of his departure for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the capital Moscow, Erdogan said, “West Bank is absolutely a territory of Palestinians," Anadolu reported.
The Turkish president said every action of Netanyahu is against international law and that Turkey will continue to stand by Palestinians.
On Saturday, Netanyahu vowed to annex the occupied West Bank if he won the general election, which is slated for April 9.
In an interview with Israeli television, he said: "We will ensure that we are in charge on the ground. And we will impose sovereignty over the settlements in Judea and Samaria [West Bank]."
Erdogan went on to say: "Every action of Israel since 1948 is illegal. But, of course, it has always taken these steps with the support of the US"
During recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the Israeli sovereignty in Syrian Golan Heights, the US took the lead, he said, adding the US's steps did not comply with the United Nations resolutions.
Last month, US President Donald Trump recognized the Golan Heights as an Israeli territory, which the regime occupied in 1967.
In December 2017, US President Donald Trump sparked international outrage when he unilaterally recognized al-Quds as Israeli regime's capital and vowed to relocate Washington's embassy to that city.
Israeli regime occupied the West Bank, including East al-Quds, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as Israel’s “eternal undivided capital” - a move never recognized by the international community.
International law views the entire West Bank as “occupied territory” and considers all Israeli settlement building there as illegal.
MNA/Anadolu
No comments