Turkey Slams Israel’s Plan to Annex West Bank

Kalin said the occupation and annexation are crimes, calling on the world to take a stand.

“We reject Israel’s plan to annex the West Bank and call for the world to take a stand against it. Occupation and annexation is a crime,” Ibrahim Kalin said on Twitter on Wednesday. 

Kalin said Turkey is ready to cooperate with authorities who are willing to take action against the occupation and annexation of Palestinian land.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set July 1 for the start of cabinet discussions on extending Israeli appropriation to settlements in the West Bank and annexing the Jordan Valley.

Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds during the Six-Day War in 1967. It later annexed East Jerusalem al-Quds in a move not recognized by the international community.

Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.

But Israel's aggressive settlement expansion and annexation plans have dealt a serious blow to any prospects of peace. The last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks collapsed in 2014. Among the major sticking points in those negotiations was Israel’s continued settlement expansion on Palestinian territories.