Turkey: Israel seeks to legalize occupation

By Cansu Dikme

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s presidential aide on Saturday lashed out at recently-approved Jewish nation-state law, calling it as an attempt for legalization of occupation.

In a column titled “Israel's nation-state bill is racist” for Daily Sabah newspaper, Ibrahim Kalin said the legislation is a sign that Israel sees itself above the international law.

“With the full backing of the Trump administration, the Netanyahu government shamelessly seeks to legalize occupation and antagonize the entire Muslim world,” Kalin wrote in his column.

Approved by Knesset (Israel’s parliament) on Thursday, the legislation recognizes Israel as the “nation-state of the Jewish people”.

Describing it as racist legislation and advocate of an official apartheid system, the presidential aide said: “It is the last nail in the coffin of the two-state solution.”

The legislation also states that a “united Jerusalem” is the capital of Israel and that Hebrew is the country's official language, stripping Arabic of its earlier designation as an official language while recognizing its “special status.”

This is “another slap” in the face of the international community and the UN resolutions rejecting illegal occupation of Jerusalem and Palestinian lands, Kalin said.

Also touching on Netanyahu’s remarks at the Israeli parliament, Kalin said it was “a confession of the Zionist project” that would continue at the expense of the lives, lands and freedom of the Palestinian people.

After the passage of the bill, Nethanyahu told the Knesset: "This is a defining moment in the annals of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel.”

Saying that the remarks amounts to erasing the Palestinian people from their homeland physically and legally, Kalin called on the world to reject the legislation.

“All countries, communities and advocacy groups who believe in a legally, morally and historically fair settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should join forces against defenders of racism and apartheid,” he said.