Turkey has joined South Africa in withdrawing its ambassador from Israel following the carnage on the Israel-Gaza border.
Turkey has joined South Africa in withdrawing its ambassador from Israel following the carnage on the Israel-Gaza border. Picture: Mohammed Salem/Reuters
Johannesburg – Turkey has joined South Africa in withdrawing its ambassador from Israel following the carnage on the Israel-Gaza border on Monday which left at least 58 Palestinians dead and over 1 100 wounded by gunfire when tens of thousands of Palestinians protested the right to return to their homes in Israel – from which they either fled or were driven out of during the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 – and the decision by Washington to move it’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
But Ankara has gone one step further than Pretoria and is withdrawing its ambassador from the United States in protest over the US embassy move which took place the same day, Latin American outlet Telesur reported on Tuesday morning.
Read more: SA withdraws ambassador to Israel following deadly Gaza protests
‘SA’s decision to withdraw ambassador to Israel outrageous’
“The United States has chosen to be a part of the problem rather than the solution,’ said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday as he reacted to the embassy move and confirmed the withdrawal of both ambassadors.
The move has been condemned by much of the international community, including the European Union, and international human rights organisations, as East Jerusalem is considered to be Israeli occupied under international law with a UN resolution stating that the city’s final status needs to be negotiated. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
Erdogan is also calling for an emergency summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to be held on Friday.
African News Agency/ANA
