Erdogan's adviser says his country will cut ties with Israel in response to Trump's recognition of Jerusalem.
Yasin Aktay, an adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel would have a direct and negative impact on Turkey's relations with Israel.
In an interview with the Hamas daily Al-Risala, Aktay said that Turkey intends to sever the diplomatic relations with Israel in response to Trump’s declaration, which he called "aggression against Palestinian rights and complicity with the crime of the occupation."
"The United States plays a hostile role against the Palestinians - and today it committed a political and moral crime that cannot be reconciled with it at all," said Aktay.
He further claimed that the U.S. decision would lead to the exclusion of the United States from the peace process.
"Every Islamic and Arab country that participated with Washington in this decision," said Aktay, "will lose its legitimacy because it chose to join with injustice and aggression against the Palestinian rights."
Education Minister Naftali Bennett pushed back against Erdogan’s threats on Tuesday.
“There will always be those who criticize, but in the end, a united Jerusalem is preferable to the love of Erdogan,” he added.