Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted Thursday Jerusalem was “not for sale” in response to a one-sided and biased Middle East plan unveiled by US counterpart Donald Trump.
“They say, ‘the deal of the century’, what deal? This is a project of occupation,” Erdogan said in Ankara. “Jerusalem is our red line… Jerusalem is not for sale.
LIVE — Erdoğan: The US calls its Middle East plan “The Deal of the Century.” What deal? This is a total invasion plan. Give up on those lies already. Jerusalem is not for sale pic.twitter.com/SaL39kKFL6
— DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) January 30, 2020
“No one should attempt to shamelessly say ‘we’ll give something and you leave this to us’,” he added.
International Affairs analysts have opined that the White House initiative is a ‘piece of political malware’, masquerading as a credible diplomatic initiative.
Read More: Trump’s Peace Plan Is a Trojan Horse That Aims to Make Israeli Occupation Permanent
The apparent goal of Trump’s so-called ‘deal of the century’ does not seem to be peace but rather an attempt at permanent normalization of Israel’s military rule over millions of Palestinians.
The Turkish President said U.S.’ so-called Middle East peace plan is an “occupation project. Erdogan has consistently underscored the crucial importance of the third holiest city for Muslims; when the US moved its Embassy to Jerusalem, he said, “Jerusalem is a red line for us.”
https://t.co/RXVpsfkyI8
‘Al-Quds is our red line’ WATCH NOW!#erdogan #Jerusalem #ÜzüldüğümKonu #OnePlanetSummit #ParisAgreement #seaplane #ShopbackHarbolnas #Hanukkah #Austria #PSC2017 #KPThanksPakistan #TuesdayThoughts @OmanNews @egyptian__daily @OIC_OCI pic.twitter.com/z8qiIyVQF6— Voice of Erdogan (@voiceoferdogan) December 12, 2017
Despite its talk of “compromises” on “both sides,” Trump’s plan satisfies a long list of right-wing Israeli demands on virtually all core issues in the conflict—from an undivided Jerusalem to annexing occupied territory to liquidating the rights of Palestinian refugees.
The plan proposes mostly cosmetic modifications to the status quo while taking all of the issues that Palestinians care about most—Jerusalem, refugees, and genuine sovereignty—off the table.
Read More: Trump’s ‘one-sided’ Mideast plan denounced by world leaders
Jerusalem, perhaps the most sensitive and contentious of all permanent status issues, would remain undivided and under permanent Israeli sovereignty. This is not the first time Jerusalem has been a sore point in US-Turkey relations, already tense over multiple issues.
The so-called peace plan unilaterally annuls previous UN resolutions on the Palestinian issue and suggests giving Israel almost everything they have been demanding.
GVS News Desk with additional input from AFP