UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM ERDOGAN
By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
LONDON (AA) - The US administration has lost its role as a mediator in the Middle East with its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday.
Erdogan’s comments came in his address at the Chatham House -- a London-based think tank -- on the day the U.S. administration said it would move its embassy to Jerusalem.
“We once again reject this decision, which is violating international law and conflicting with the UN decisions,” he said.
Monday also coincides with the 70th anniversary of Israel’s establishment in 1948 -- an event Palestinians refer to as the “Nakba” or the “The Catastrophe”.
"We cannot stop feeling like being in dark days of pre-World War II," Erdogan said on the embassy move.
He also spoke about several regional and international conflicts.
"The international community must act fast to end Israel’s rising aggression by fulfilling its responsibilities.
“If Shakespeare was alive and to rewrite his Hamlet today, I believe he would make Prince Hamlet say the same thing: ‘The time is out of joint’," Erdogan said, quoting the famous English bard.
"It is not possible to say anything else after seeing more than 50 people who were killed by snipers after specifically being targeted in Palestine -- just in the last few weeks -- and about 1000 wounded people, who wanted nothing else but to go back their homes,” he said.
“Ask a father who works for under $1 per day and tries to look after his family! Can he say anything else?
“Words fail to describe the miserable conditions for millions of people in Somalia, Yemen and Afghanistan."
U.S. President Donald Trump sparked international outcry last December when he unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and vowed to relocate Washington's embassy to the city.