Israeli-occupied territories

Dozens of Israeli settlers on May 24 forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem for the second day in a row after a hiatus of three weeks, according to a Palestinian agency.

Turkey has called on Israel to allow the Palestinians to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections in East Jerusalem after Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas decided to postpone the elections scheduled for May 22 following Israel's rejection of their request.

Israel's recent evacuation, destruction and confiscation decisions against Palestinians violate international law, according to a statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on March 19. 

Turkey on Jan. 12 expressed concern over Israel's plans to build new illegal settlements in Palestine's occupied West Bank.

"The move is the latest example of the illegitimate practices of Israel that it accelerated before the new administration takes office in the US," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement.

As Turkey steps up to mobilize the international community against Israeli plans to annex West Bank, Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu on May 21 had phone conversations with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Yousef Al-Othaimeen.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on May 19 that the country is terminating all agreements and understandings signed with Israel and the U.S., including on security.

Abbas made the announcement at a Palestinian leadership meeting in Ramallah. The decision came in response to the proposed Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank.

Israel's attempts to annex the West Bank from Palestinians show "an extremely dangerous mindset aimed at extorting occupied Palestinian lands," Turkey warned on April 24. 

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has rejected an invitation by the U.S. for a secret meeting between the two parties, its political chief said on March 3.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that he has taken steps to build 3,500 new homes on the West Bank, DPA reported. 

"We are building up Jerusalem and the outskirts of Jerusalem. I gave an immediate directive, to deposit plans to build 3500 housing units in E1," the prime minister said.

Turkey on Feb. 21 slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he announced that he was reviving a plan for the construction of 3,000 new settler homes near East Jerusalem, a project effectively frozen after international opposition.