This will destroy all hopes for lasting peace in the Middle East," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said late Wednesday regarding Israel's plans to illegally annex the West Bank – territory recognized by the United Nations as belonging to a Palestinian state.
"If Israel crosses the red line, we as Islamic countries must show that this will have consequences," he added. Earlier on the same day, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held a virtual meeting at the level of foreign ministers to discuss Israel's plans to annex occupied territories in the West Bank.
At the emergency meeting, Yousef Bin Al-Othaimeen, the secretary-general of the organization, reiterated the OIC's position of rejecting all Israeli policies aimed at changing the demographic nature of the Palestinian territories.
He also called on the international community to "hold Israel accountable for its continued violations and to provide protection to the Palestinian people."
Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki called for further political, legal, diplomatic and economic steps to confront the Israeli annexation plan.
The Israeli annexation plan has drawn international condemnation and outrage.
The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is seen as occupied territory under international law, thus making all Jewish settlements there – as well as the planned annexation – illegal.
