Lebanon, Turkey mull opening embassies in East Jerusalem al-Quds
Lebanon and Turkey are considering opening diplomatic missions in the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds in response to US President Donald Trump’s controversial recognition of the whole city as the "capital" of Israel.
In a post on his official Twitter account, Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil described East Jerusalem al-Quds as “the capital of Palestine,” saying he had informed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of his willingness to establish a Lebanese embassy there.
Bassil also noted that Abbas had promised to provide a piece of land for Lebanon's mission in al-Quds.
The top Lebanese diplomat further pointed out that the embassy plan was expected to be debated during the cabinet meeting later on Thursday.
Separately, Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), called on the government to open the country's embassy in East Jerusalem al-Quds.
"Turkey should immediately, without wasting time, open its embassy to Palestine in East Jerusalem," Engin Altay, CHP's deputy chairman, said on Thursday.
The developments came after the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) declared in a statement that it would recognize "East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine and invite all countries to recognize the State of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital."
The statement was issued at the end of an emergency summit of the 57-member organization in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Wednesday.
The event came one week after Trump declared that Washington was recognizing Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel and that he had instructed his administration to begin the process of moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city.
The dramatic shift in Washington’s Jerusalem al-Quds policy drew fierce criticism from the international community, including Washington's Western allies, and triggered protests against the US and Israel worldwide.
Israel lays claim to the whole Jerusalem al-Quds, but the international community views the ancient city's eastern sector as occupied land and the Palestinians consider it their future capital.
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