Turkey censures Israeli regime over ‘racist’ annexation plan
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has denounced Israel for continuing its “aggressive” policies after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his plan to annex more areas of the occupied West Bank following the upcoming elections.
Cavusoglu made the remarks on Sunday in Jeddah where the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held an emergency meeting to discuss Netanyahu's recent remarks.
Netanyahu on Tuesday promised to annex parts of occupied land in the West Bank, including the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea, if he wins the September 17 general elections, drawing sharp criticism from the Palestinians as well as countries in the Middle East, including Jordan, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Cavusoglu condemned Netanyahu's "embarrassing" plan as a "despicable" attempt to get votes ahead of Tuesday's elections.
Turkey’s top diplomat also censured what he called a lack of reaction from other Muslim states.
"Israel, encouraged by the support of certain countries, is continuing its aggressive policies that are turning it into a racist, apartheid regime," Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency cited Cavusoglu as saying, adding, "If the whole Muslim community had reacted together, the reckless plans, policies and behavior of the United States and Israel would never have reached this point."
Reacting to Netanyahu's plan, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) warned that Netanyahu’s promise is the tip of the iceberg.
According to a weekly report by the PLO's National Office for the Defense of Land and Resistance of Settlement released on Saturday, Netanyahu plans to annex 75 percent of Area C, which accounts for more than 60 percent of the occupied West Bank, and would form a significant part of a future Palestine state under the so-called two-state solution. It is fully controlled by Israeli authorities.
Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Six-Day War, in a move never recognized by the international community.
The Jordan Valley accounts for around one-third of the West Bank. Israeli right-wing politicians have long viewed the 2,400-square kilometer (926.65-square mile) strategic area as a part of the territory they would never retreat from and stated that the Israeli military would maintain its control there under any peace agreement with the Palestinians.
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