Türkiye rejects 'in strongest terms' Israeli officials' call for annexing West Bank

By Serdar Dincel

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye on Thursday rejected "in the strongest terms" statements by Israeli politicians and Cabinet ministers calling for the annexation of the occupied West Bank.

Such statements are a clear indication of Israel’s settlement policies that violate international law as well as its efforts to make the occupation permanent, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

These irresponsible calls for annexation, coming notably during a period when ceasefire initiatives are ongoing, disregard the principles for a solution that the international community has taken for many years, the ministry said.

It is clear that systematic interventions in Palestinian territories and practices aimed at displacing the Palestinian people have further deepened the fragility in the region, it noted.

The ministry reiterated Türkiye's call for the recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital in order to establish lasting peace, mutual trust, and stability in the Middle East.

Fourteen Cabinet ministers from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party urged the premier on Wednesday to immediately annex the occupied West Bank.

In a letter addressed to Netanyahu and shared by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on X, the signatories demanded the government “apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) before the end of the Knesset (parliament) summer session,” which is set to end on July 27.