Erdogan vows to protect Palestinian lands amid Israel’s annexation plans

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reiterated Ankara's support for Palestinians, vowing to help protect their lands amid Israel’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank.

According to Press TV, Erdogan -- in a video message on Twitter addressed to US Muslims on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan on Sunday -- said, "We will not allow the Palestinian lands to be offered to anyone else."

"I would like to reiterate that al-Quds al-Sharif, the holy site of three religions and our first Qiblah, is a red line for all Muslims worldwide," he added, referring to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem al-Quds.

Erdogan also condemned Zionist entoty’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank.

"Last week we witnessed that a new occupation and annexation project, which disregards Palestine’s sovereignty and international law, was put into action by Israel."

The Israeli regime’s plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley, which had been envisaged in US President Donald Trump’s so-called "deal of the century", were unveiled earlier this year.

Trump's highly provocative scheme, which further denies the right of return to Palestinian refugees, is also in complete disregard of UN Security Council resolutions and rejected by the vast majority of the international community.

Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state with al-Quds as its capital. But Israel's aggressive settlement expansion and annexation plans have dealt a serious blow to any prospects of peace.

SS