Turkey: Opposition head calls for cutting Israeli ties

By Muhammet Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader called on the government to cut diplomatic ties with Israel.

Speaking to lawmakers at a meeting for the 2018 budget, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, said: "If there is a tyrant somewhere, and if he tyrannizes, then we must resist him."

Kilicdaroglu criticized Arab countries for their halfhearted response to the U.S. move on Jerusalem.

"Unfortunately, so many Arab countries do not exhibit the response which we have shown [for Palestine]," he said.

Recalling President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks on cutting diplomatic ties with Israel, Kilicdaroglu said: "If you want to sever ties, then go ahead. We are backing you."

Despite widespread regional and international opposition, U.S. President Donald Trump last Wednesday announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

According to Trump, the U.S. State Department has already begun preparations to relocate Washington’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The dramatic shift in U.S. policy sparked demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories and several Muslim countries.

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.