Erdogan warns U.S. Jerusalem decision breaches int'l law

ISTANBUL, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel contradicts international law and UN resolutions.

"The United Nations Security Council has taken the major blow out of this declaration," Erdogan said at a meeting in Istanbul.

He said the declaration on Jerusalem has put the U.S. at odds with Security Council Resolution 478 which condemns Israel's attempted annexation of East Jerusalem and urges UN member states to withdraw their missions from Jerusalem.

"How could it be possible? You have a signature on and now you are denying it," Erdogan demanded.

"Leading the world is not that easy and being strong does not give you this right," Erdogan said of U.S. President Donald Trump, who on Wednesday reversed long-held U.S. policy by announcing his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and start the procedures of moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

"Leaders of the big countries are tasked with making peace, not to create conflicts," the Turkish leader said.

Erdogan also accused Israel of being an occupying state, displaying the gradual expansion of Israeli territories from 1947 until today on a map shown on a screen.

"Now, with its police forces, they are attacking children and young people, causing terror," he said, once again describing Jerusalem as the red line for the Muslim world.

Erdogan has threatened to cut off diplomatic ties with Israel and called for an emergency summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul on Dec. 13.

The status of Jerusalem is among the core issues related to the Israel-Palestine conflict, as the Palestinians are seeking to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Enditem