Turkish PM says hopes US will abandon wrong decision on Jerusalem soon

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on Friday said that he hopes the U.S. administration will abandon its wrong decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital as soon as possible and that the decision was completely contrary to the previous UN resolution.

The UN General Assembly with 128 votes of the 193 member-states on Thursday rejected and condemned Trump’s Jerusalem decision that he took on Dec.6.

Yıldırım addressed the UN’s resolution on Jerusalem saying, “This is a clear message to the United States. I hope the U.S. administration will evaluate and abandon this wrong decision.”

“The conflict which has been ongoing for almost half a century caused great pain. This pain should not continue,” Yıldırım added.

He noted that Turkey has undertaken a very active and pioneering role regarding the issue of Jerusalem under the presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“Our president invited all Muslim countries to an extraordinary summit as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) term president. A great reaction took place on Dec. 12 against the decision taken by the U.S. on Dec. 6. The U.S. was left alone at the [UN] General Assembly despite their threats.”

On Monday the U.S. used its veto power to cancel out a Security Council resolution to condemn the U.S. president’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the holy city, despite 14 of the 15-member council voting in favor.

President Trump on Wednesday threatened to cut aid to countries who vote against the U.S. at the UN General Assembly on the status of Jerusalem.

The resolution was then adopted at a rare emergency special session on Thursday at the UN General Assembly, where the U.S. does not have veto powers.

A total of 128 members voted in favor of the resolution, nine countries voted against and 35 others abstained.

Jerusalem is sacred to both Muslims and Jews, as it includes sites known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif (The Noble Sanctuary), al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the rock, as well as an ancient Jewish temple.