Turkey’s MHP leader blasts Israel’s ‘Jewish state’ law

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) - The leader of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on Friday slammed Israel’s recently approved "Jewish nation-state" law.

"Israel is moving step by step towards disaster, playing with fire and also regional and global balances," Devlet Bahceli wrote on Twitter.

On Thursday, the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) approved the law, which describes Israel as “the nation-state of the Jewish people.”

The legislation further 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.”

It was approved by a vote of 62-55 in a tumultuous assembly session in which Arab lawmakers decried what they called “Israeli racism against the Arab minority.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for his part, has hailed the legislation, describing its passage as a “defining moment for Zionism and Israel.”

Turkey has denounced the legislation for trying to strip Palestinians of their rights.