Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement about the annexation of the Jordan Valley “shameful” and emphasized that it was a “vile attempt” to earn votes in the upcoming elections, Anadolu reports.
Netanyahu previously announced that the Israeli government will extend Israel’s sovereignty to the Jordan Valley. Netanyahu intends to take the first steps immediately after the formation of a new cabinet of ministers after the elections to the Knesset of the 22nd convocation, which will be held on September 17.
“Netanyahu’s shameful statement is a vile attempt to win a few more votes in the upcoming elections at the cost of destroying hopes for (achieving – ed.) Lasting peace in the Middle East,” Cavusoglu said at an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah.
He added that the Israeli authorities are continuing aggressive steps, in many ways similar to apartheid. At the same time, Cavusoglu noted that if the Islamic world acted together, the United States and Israel could not bring the situation to its current state.
Settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem, where nearly 600 thousand Israelis already live, are considered to be the main irritant in Israel’s relations with the international community and one of the main obstacles in the search for peace with the Palestinians, who perceive it as a policy of consolidating the Jewish state on territories conquered half a century ago.