Muslims will never accept the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on Friday, according to AFP.
He referred to President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as a “bomb” thrown at the entire Middle East, and repeated past accusationsthat Israel is a “terror state”.
“Trying to make Jerusalem capital of a terror state is not a situation that can be accepted by Muslims,” declared Erdogan, who spoke at the opening of a new metro line in Istanbul.
The U.S. step is a “new bomb thrown into the lap of the Middle East,” the Turkish leader charged.
Erdogan urged Muslims to take stronger action or risk the consequences.
“The Jerusalem decision is a harbinger of new operations targeting the Islamic world,” he warned, adding, “If Muslims fail to show the necessary reaction on this issue within the law, believe me there will be more to come.”
Since Trump made his announcement on Jerusalem, Erdogan has stepped up his anti-Israel rhetoric.
He had previously warned the United States not to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, or to move the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, saying that any change to the status quo vis-à-vis Jerusalem would constitute a “red line” for Muslims. He also threatened that his country would sever ties with Israel if Trump went through with the move.
However, Erdogan has consistently attacked Israel, even after the reconciliation deal was signed.
In May, Erdogan spoke out angrily over legal plans in Israel to prevent the use of loudspeakers on minarets to summon Muslims for nightly prayers.
In July, the Turkish leader accused Israel of harming itself and the region because of its security measures at the Temple Mount.
This past week, Erdogan chaired a summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) where leaders declared eastern Jerusalem to be the capital of a Palestinian state.
They also urged the world to follow suit and recognize eastern Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, but did not agree any on concrete measures or sanctions.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)