Turkey says US plans to move embassy to Jerusalem 'extremely worrying'

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that the recent US statement saying it would move its embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was “extremely worrying”.

The State Department announced on Friday that the US would move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14 - the day the state of Israel was established and officially recognised by Washington in 1948.

“Turkey will continue exerting efforts along with the overwhelming majority of the international community to protect the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights in response to the US’s [...] decision, which is extremely worrying,” the ministry said in a statement.

The statement showed that the US was insistent on "destroying peace by violating international law", UN Security Council resolutions on Jerusalem and UN parameters, the ministry noted.

Moves against US decision

The Turkish Foreign Ministry added that the US was proving with this latest statement that it either did not hear, or did not wish to listen to, the international community, the position of which was reflected in last December's Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Istanbul declaration and the subsequent UN General Assembly resolution.

The relocation plan was the United States’ first priority after President Donald Trump announced his decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December last year, which drew a storm of condemnation and protests across the Arab and Muslim world.

The OIC, in an extraordinary summit in Istanbul, proceeded to recognise East Jerusalem as Palestine's capital.

That same month, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Jerusalem by an overwhelming majority, calling on the US to withdraw its recognition of the city as Israel's capital.

A total of 128 members voted in favour of the Jerusalem resolution, nine countries voted against and 35 others abstained.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem - now occupied by Israel - might eventually serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.