We consider the US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as a dangerous provocative initiative that must be stopped immediately and that undermines already emaciated peace initiatives in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
This decision, which is in clear violation of the international law and United Nations resolutions, cannot be considered separately from the political tensions in other Middle Eastern countries in terms of its possible effects and timing. When it is considered together with the ongoing battles in Iraq and Syria for many years, the fight for the throne that started in Saudi Arabia, the deepening embargo and brutality policies in Yemen, and the political instability in Lebanon, this decision will both mortify the Israeli-Palestinian issue and may set the ground for a major war in which Iran and the Saudi regime would be at the center stage. And such a war would terrorize the entire region.
On the other hand, the AKP government is also trying to score points by manipulating and using the Palestinian issue in domestic politics. It should not be forgotten that the kneeling down agreement to Israel, which appraised 20 million dollars to the victims of the Mavi Marmara, was finalized in Ankara and Jerusalem on 28 June 2016, signed by the government and approved by the Parliament. HDP was the only party that voted "no" to this agreement.
The AKP government considered Jerusalem as a city comparable to Ankara and thus de facto recognized as Israel's capital by this agreement, which discarded the victims of the Mavi Marmara and the Palestinian issue. The present politics of the AKP government can be described as “eating the lamb with the wolf, then sitting down and crying with the shepherd”.
Jerusalem, hosting three monotheistic religions and simultaneously being a holy city for Muslims, Christians and Jews with its mosques, churches and synagogues, is an antithesis of all kinds of monolithic politics with its pluralistic history, culture and sociology. This decision of Trump is a manifestation of the monolithic mentality that we are also familiar with in our country.
We invite the US President Trump to repeal this irresponsible and dangerous decision and call upon the United Nations and the international community to take an active stance against it. Our historical solidarity with the Palestinian people and their struggle also determines our attitude towards such unilateral decisions. Jerusalem and the entire geography of the Middle East have different cultures, peoples, beliefs and languages. All historical, political, social and peaceful solutions can only be built on a negotiated understanding of this reality.
Peoples’ Democratic Party
Central Executive Board
7 December 2017