Turkish FM meets Palestinian, Jordanian counterparts

By Mehmet Alaca

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Sunday held bilateral meetings with his Palestinian and Jordanian counterparts.

The meetings with Palestine's Riad al-Malki and Jordan's Ayman Safadi were held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the sidelines of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conference.

Cavusoglu met al-Malki amid comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of applying Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea if he wins the Sept. 17 elections.

"Discussed w/my brother FM Riad Malki of #Palestine latest regional developments, particularly #Israel's reckless aggression. #Turkey will continue to uphold the Palestinian cause in every forum and always support the Palestinian people," Cavusoglu said in a tweet after the meeting.

Cavusoglu later held a bilateral meeting with Safadi.

"Met w/FM @AymanHsafadi of #Jordan. Will continue to strengthen our cooperation w/Jordan through our joint efforts not only in our bilateral relations but also in the defense of the Palestinian cause," Cavusoglu tweeted after meeting.

In an earlier tweet after the emergency meeting of OIC, he blasted Israel's illegal policies and said the international community "should finally put an end to Israel’s violent policies&initiatives of expansion of illegal settlements".

Cavusoglu also said the international community "should ensure that Palestinians live in a free #Palestine, in peace and dignity".

Roughly 70,000 Palestinians -- along with some 9,500 Jewish settlers -- currently live in the Jordan Valley, which is a large, fertile strip of land that accounts for roughly one-quarter of the West Bank's overall territory.

Turkey, Arab League and European countries said they were concerned by Netanyahu's annexation statement, with UN secretary general’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric saying the annexation plan would violate international law.

International law views both the West Bank and East Jerusalem as "occupied territories" and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity there as illegal.