West Bank is 'absolutely' Palestinian territory: Erdogan

By Faruk Zorlu and Sena Guler

ANKARA (AA) - The West Bank is "absolutely" a territory of Palestinians, said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, lambasting Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu for his remarks on annexing Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank if re-elected.

Speaking to reporters ahead of his departure for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the capital Moscow, Erdogan said: “West Bank is absolutely a territory of Palestinians.”

Turkish president also said every action of Netanyahu is against international law.

On Saturday, Netanyahu vowed to annex the occupied West Bank if he won the general election which is slated for April 9.

He said in an interview with Israeli television: "We will ensure that we are in charge on the ground. And we will impose sovereignty over the settlements in Judea and Samaria [West Bank]."

Roughly 650,000 Jewish settlers currently live on more than 100 settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

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

The Palestinians, for their part, want both these territories -- along with the Gaza Strip -- for the establishment of a future Palestinian state.