‘Trump's plan tries to legitimize Israeli occupation’

By Yildiz Nevin Gundogmus

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s communications director on Wednesday criticized the U.S.' so-called Middle East peace plan, saying it “tries to give Jerusalem to Israel.”

“This so-called ‘peace plan’ is simply a declaration attempting to legitimize the Israeli occupation and settlements,” Fahrettin Altun wrote on Twitter.

“It is neither an implementable plan nor a fair assessment of the situation on the ground. It seeks to satisfy Israel while squashing Palestinian aspirations.”

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump released his much-hyped plan to end the Israel-Palestine dispute at the White House with Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu by his side.

There was, however, no Palestinian representative at the announcement, which saw Trump referring to Jerusalem as "Israel's undivided capital."

Criticizing Washington’s interference in the matter, Altun underlined that “Jerusalem does not belong to Israel” and no third party has the right to determine the holy city’s status.

He said the declaration proves the need for all countries in the region to handle their own issues without any outside involvement.

“Netanyahu is playing a political game for his personal political future. He is feeling the pressure at home. He is seeking political gain by irresponsibly using such a sensitive matter as peace,” wrote the senior Turkish official.

“As he heads to elections in March, he cannot be allowed to play politics with holy sites.”

Trump’s so-called peace plan unilaterally annuls previous UN resolutions on the Palestinian issue and has drawn criticism for giving Israel almost everything it demanded.

Following the plan’s formal rollout, thousands of protesters took to the streets in various parts of Palestine and Jordan’s capital Amman.

The "#FreePalestine" hashtag also quickly became the top world trend on Twitter.

*Writing by Burak Dag