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Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday described Israel as a "state of occupation" which used "terror" against the Palestinians, as he stepped up his criticism of the US recognition of Jerusalem as its capital.

Erdogan has been bitterly opposed to the decision of US President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem and has called a summit of Islamic countries on December 13 in Istanbul.

"Israel is a state of occupation," Erdogan said in a speech in Istanbul, referring to Israel's continued occupation of the West Bank and settlement building.

"And now they are making use of terror and are bombing young people and children," he said.

Retaliatory Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip killed two militants from Palestinian Islamist group Hamas before dawn, bringing to four the number killed since Trump announced the move.

Erdogan, who regards himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause and an opponent of any perceived global injustice against Muslims, described Jerusalem as the "apple of our eye" and a "red line" for Muslims.

He said that the American decision was "null and void" for Ankara.

"Trump seeks to move forwards by saying 'there we go, I did it, it's done!'. I'm sorry but... being strong does not give you such a right."

"The leaders of major countries have a mission to make peace. Not unleash conflicts.

Erdogan on Saturday continued to play a central role in diplomatic efforts in the crisis, telephoning French President Emmanuel Macron and Lebanese President Michel Aoun, the presidency said.

Last year, Turkey and Israel ended a rift triggered by Israel's storming in 2010 of a Gaza-bound ship that left 10 Turkish activists dead and led to a downgrading of diplomatic ties.

The two sides have since stepped up cooperation, particularly in energy, but Erdogan has repeatedly been bitterly critical of Israeli policy.

Last week he warned that Turkey's reaction "could go as far as" cutting relations with Israel, but he made no reference to this in his latest speech.

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Erdogan steps up attacks on 'state of occupation' Israel

May 16, 2017: President Donald Trump welcomes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House in Washington. (AP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the Trump administration on Tuesday that recognizing Jerusalem as Israels capital is a red line for Muslims.

Erdogan, while speaking to Parliament, said such a step by President Trump would force Turkey to cut off all diplomatic ties with Israel. He pledged to rally other Muslim countries to oppose any move to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital.

The White House has been considering recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel despite growing calls from the Middle East and Europe to reconsider the move. The possible recognition might come this week.

Turkey is among the latest nations to publicly voice their opposition to the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish State, with some saying it will hinder the possibility of the peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians and will be an insult to the Muslim world.

The Palestinian leadership said Tuesday that they will stop contacts with the U.S. if Trump goes forward with the change. Palestinian officials also called for mass protests in the event of the recognition.

The Organization for Islamic Cooperation, an umbrella organization of Muslim countries, said Monday that the move would constitute naked aggression against the Arab and Muslim world.

In Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron told Trump during a telephone call on Monday that he was concerned about the plan and asked to reconsider the move, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Mr. Macron reaffirmed that the status of Jerusalem must be resolved through peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, particularly those relating to the establishment of two states, Macrons office said.

The opposition surrounds East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967 after Arab nations launched an all-out attack against the state, the home of a large Muslim population. Both Israel and Palestinian leaders see Jerusalem as their countrys rightful capital.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Lukas Mikelionis is a reporter for FoxNews.com. Follow him on Twitter@LukasMikelionis.

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Erdogan: Recognizing Jerusalem as Israels capital is red ...

Istanbul (AFP) - Turkey's leader is seeking to spearhead Islamic reaction to the US declaration on Jerusalem, but it is uncertain if he can coordinate a meaningful response among often disunited Muslim nations.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who regards himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause, had fulminated against President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital even before it was officially announced this week.

Erdogan described the status of the city, whose eastern sector Palestinians see as the capital of their future state, as a "red line" for Muslims.

With Trump disregarding such warnings, the Turkish president used his position as the current chairman of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to call a summit of the pan-Islamic group.

"He is seeking to garner an international response," said Ziya Meral, resident fellow at the British Army's Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research, noting Erdogan had spoken to Muslim allies and non-Islamic leaders.

"What Turkey can do tangibly next is far from clear and responses have risks for Erdogan and Turkey," he told AFP.

- 'Exacerbate the malaise' -

Turkey in 2016 agreed to resume full diplomatic relations with Israel after the crisis triggered by the deadly storming by Israel of a Turkish ship seeking to break the Gaza blockade in 2010.

Cooperation has resumed, most significantly in energy. But Erdogan has rarely mustered much public enthusiasm for ties with Israel and retains warm relations with Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that controls Gaza.

Erdogan's supporters proudly recall how he famously walked out of a January 2009 debate in Davos with then Israeli president Shimon Peres, complaining he was not given enough time to respond and repeatedly saying "one minute!".

The Turkish leader has left diplomatic niceties aside in warning his US counterpart of the dangers of the move, using the backyard-style rhetoric he usually keeps for bitter enemies.

"Hey Trump! What do you want to do?" Erdogan said Thursday. "What kind of approach is this? Political leaders do not stir things up, they seek to make peace!"

Bulent Aliriza, director of the Turkey Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said it was unclear if Erdogan's strong reaction would have any impact on Trump.

"What is clear is that the Jerusalem issue will inevitably exacerbate the malaise in the US-Turkish relationship, which was already under considerable strain."

Trump's arrival as US leader was welcomed by Ankara but relations have hit new trouble due to rows over the Syria conflict, an explosive legal case in New York and even a mutual visa suspension.

Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said Erdogan's Islamic-rooted ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) shares an "ideological affinity" with Hamas.

This suggests "Erdogan can never be an honest broker on the Israeli-Palestinian issue," he said.

- 'Flag bearer for Muslim alliances' -

The Istanbul summit of the OIC -- an organisation founded in 1969 after an arson attack on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem -- will offer Erdogan the chance to showcase his status as a global Muslim leader.

But it remains unclear if he will be able to come close to shifting the 57 members -- including arch foes like Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia --- into anything resembling a coordinated position.

"Turkey... will seek a prominent role in coordinating Muslim reactions to the US move," wrote analysts Ofer Zalzberg and Nathan Thrall of the International Crisis Group (ICG).

But they added most leaders in the Gulf, Egypt and elsewhere are "likely to make do with rhetorical expressions of opposition" and were unlikely to risk sacrificing good relations with the US.

Crucially watched will be attendance from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's Egypt -- a bete noire of Erdogan -- and Gulf kingpin Saudi Arabia which is under the sway of powerful crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Under Erdogan's rule, Turkey has sought an enhanced role for the OIC. Thanks to his backing Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu -- who later stood against Erdogan in presidential elections -- was secretary general of the Jeddah-based group from 2004-2014.

"Turkey has attempted to be a flag bearer for Muslim alliances for the last 12 years to very limited outcomes," said Meral of the British Army's Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research.

"OIC is a weak entity with very little shared agenda and commitment to shared causes," he said, adding a better option to help the Palestinians would be to work more closely with EU and Western nations who have criticised the move.

Excerpt from:
Turkey's Erdogan seeks to lead Muslim response on Jerusalem

Dec. 8, 2017 10:17 AM EST

KOMOTINI, Greece (AP) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with members of Greece's Muslim minority on Friday, ending a landmark visit to Greece that sharply divided opinion in the country and saw tensions in relations resurface.

Erdogan attended prayers at the Kirmahalle Cammi mosque in the northeastern town of Komotini, where he was greeted by several thousand supporters chanting his name. He spoke to the crowd outside a Turkish-language school.

"There are close to 150,000 of our kinsmen. Our kinsmen. You are a bridge between Turkey and Greece. That's how we see you," he said.

Officials in Athens had hoped Erdogan's visit could help ease the strains between Turkey and European countries, but in public statements, Erdogan and Greek officials raised longstanding grievances.

"The Greek government undertook a bold initiative to invite the Turkish president to Athens," government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told Cypriot television.

A frank exchange of views, he said, would ultimately help improve relations between the two often uneasy neighbors.

"It is the first visit by a Turkish president in 65 years, and there was obviously a lot of attention ... Given the importance of this visit, I think things went very well," he said.

Greek opposition parties called the two-day visit a fiasco that had handed Erdogan a platform to attack Greek policy.

The two NATO allies have come to the brink of war several times during the last four decades over disputed boundaries in the Aegean Sea and the war-divided island of Cyprus.

On Friday, Erdogan walked through Komotini handing out toys to children and greeting supporters. He also met two Muslim clerics who are not officially recognized by the state.

Security was tight in the town ahead of the visit, with roads blocked off, a heavy police presence and a police helicopter circling overhead.

Erdogan earlier rattled his hosts in Athens by saying the 1923 treaty that set the borders of modern Turkey and outlined the status of minorities the Muslim minority in Greece and the Greek minority in Turkey should be "updated." The two sides went on to verbally spar in live televised appearances over several issues.

He later insisted his remarks were not made in reference to Greek borders.

The status of the minorities has frequently been a source of tension in Greek-Turkish relations. Greece recognizes the roughly 130,000-150,000-strong Muslim community as a religious minority, most of them Turkish-speaking.

"What the minority expects from Mr. Erdogan's visit to Greece, to Athens and to Komotini is a new beginning in Greek-Turkish relations that will have a positive impact on the problems of the minority," said Ozan Ahmetoglou of the Peace and Friendship minority party.

Still, about 100 anti-Erdogan protesters gathered a mile away in the town's square.

"Erdogan is undesirable in (Komotini), and we express the public sentiment of the region's residents," said Kostas Karaiskos, a representative of local anti-Erdogan groups.

___

Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Elena Becatoros and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Greece, contributed.

Follow Kantouris at http://www.twitter.com/CostasKantouris

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Turkey's Erdogan heading to meet Greece's Muslim minority ...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to cut ties with Israel if U.S. President Donald Trump recognizes Jerusalem as its capital, portending the backlash the move could cause in Muslim-majority nations.

Mr. Trump, Jerusalem is a red line for Muslims, Erdogan said in a speech at parliament in Ankara on Tuesday. This could lead us to break off our diplomatic relations with Israel.

Trump had been expected to signal his intention Monday, when he was due to decide whether to renew his signature on a waiver to keep the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv. But no action was made public, and a White House spokesman said an announcement would be made in coming days. The decision is fraught with religious and political implications with Jerusalem, home to some of the holiest ancient sites in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, also claimed by Palestinians as the capital of a future state.

Read more: Why Jerusalems Status Is a Capital Controversy

Relations between Turkey and Israel, whose alliance was once a bulwark of the U.S.s Middle East security posture, have deteriorated as Erdogan moved to redefine his country as a Muslim power and became a fierce critic of Israeli policies in the region. The two countries broke off ties after 2010, when Israeli soldiers raided a Turkish ship trying to break the embargo on the Gaza Strip. Nine Turks were killed on board and a 10th died later. The countries reestablished formal diplomatic relations last year.

Israel must advance its goals, including the recognition of a united Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel, Israels Education Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement. At the end of the day, it is better to have a united Jerusalem than Erdogans sympathy.

Other signs of displeasure with Trumps reported intentions came from Saudi Arabia and France.

The Saudis on Tuesday called the expected move unjustified U.S. bias that disrupts efforts to revive peace talks, and cautioned it could have grave consequences. French President Emmanuel Macron told Trump on Monday that the prospect of a unilateral declaration concerned him, and said the citys status must be resolved through peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Trump phoned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, a day before the expected announcement. Calls also were scheduled with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordanian King Abdullah, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

Trump told Abbas of his intention to move the embassy, and Abbas said he would seek to mobilize world leaders against it, the official Palestinian news agencyWafa reported, citing presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, appearing Tuesday at a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, said the status of the city must be negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians.

Abbass Fatah party has called for demonstrations across the West Bank and Arab world if Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Israels capital.

With assistance by David Wainer, Michael Arnold, and Fadwa Hodali

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Erdogan Says He'd Cut Israel Ties If Trump Acts on Jerusalem