Turkish president reaffirms pledge to open embassy in East Jerusalem

ISTANBUL, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday reaffirmed Turkey's intention to open an embassy in East Jerusalem, which was recognized as the capital of the State of Palestine by Islamic leaders days ago.

"We have already declared East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian State but we have not been able to open our embassy there because Jerusalem is currently under occupation," said Erdogan at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party in central Anatolian province of Karaman.

"God willing we will open our embassy there," he was quoted as saying by the Hurriyet daily.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu unveiled Ankara's plan to open an embassy in East Jerusalem on Thursday, one day after leaders of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation met in Istanbul and recognized East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine, in respond to the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The unilateral move taken by U.S. President Donald Trump on Dec. 6 have sparked violent clashes on the Palestinian territories as well as protests in other countries.

"Do not attempt to undertake a Zionist (Israel) operation. If you do, the cost of this will be heavy," the Turkish leader warned.

The status of Jerusalem is among the core issues related to the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Enditem