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Turkey’s Foreign Minister Slams Netanyahu for West Bank Annexation Remarks

© AP Photo / Turkish Foreign Ministry via AP, PoolTurkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks to the media
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks to the media - Sputnik International
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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu condemned what it called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “irresponsible” promise to annex settlements in the West Bank if re-elected, insisting that it would not change their territorial status.

Cavusoglu suggested in a tweet on Sunday that Netanyahu was seeking to lure votes with such a promise.

“West Bank is Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in violation of int’l law,” Cavusoglu wrote on Twitter. “Prime Minister Netanyahu’s irresponsible statement to seek votes just before the Israeli general elections cannot and will not change this fact.”

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin criticized Netanyahu’s political ambitions, noting that they are undermining the attempts to have a mutual solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

“Yet another example of how Netanyahu uses electoral politics to justify occupation and undermine the two-state solution. If he is re-elected, will this be a triumph of ‘democracy’ or occupation?” he tweeted.

Omer Celik, a spokesman for Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party, also noted that Netanyahu’s promise violates United Nations Security Council resolutions, stating that it “not only transgresses the law, but it also attempts to completely destroy it,” cited by PressTV.

READ MORE: 'It Won't Happen': Netanyahu Says Palestinian State Will Not Be Created

Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he was planning to extend Israeli sovereignty over settlements in the occupied West Bank territories if he wins another term in the upcoming elections, scheduled for 9 April.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he delivers a statement in Ramat Gan, Israel, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. - Sputnik International
Netanyahu Probe Hasn’t Affected Israel’s Position in Global Arena – Ex-FM
Israel and Palestine have had border and sovereignty disputes for several decades. Currently, Palestine is seeking independence and wants to establish East Jerusalem as its capital. Palestine remains only partially recognized as a state and claims the territories of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

In 1947, the United Nations worked out a plan to put an end to the conflict, giving most of the West Bank and Gaza to Palestine. However, Israel seized the then Jordan-controlled West Bank along with East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. In 1980, the Israeli parliament adopted the Jerusalem Law proclaiming the entire city as Israel’s undivided capital. The international community does not recognize the annexation and believes the status of Jerusalem and the West Bank settlements requires mutual agreement with the Palestinians.

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