Lebanon, Turkey mull opening embassies in al-Quds

Lebanon and Turkey are considering opening diplomatic missions in the occupied al-Quds in response to US President Donald Trump’s controversial recognition of the whole city as the "capital" of the illegal Zionist entity.

According to reports, in a post on his official Twitter account, Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil described East al-Quds as “the capital of Palestine,” saying he had informed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of his willingness to establish a Lebanese embassy there.

Bassil also noted that Abbas had promised to provide a piece of land for Lebanon's mission in al-Quds.

The top Lebanese diplomat further pointed out that the embassy plan was expected to be debated during the cabinet meeting later on Thursday.

Separately, Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), called on the government to open the country's embassy in East al-Quds.

"Turkey should immediately, without wasting time, open its embassy to Palestine in East al-Quds," Engin Altay, CHP's deputy chairman, said on Thursday.

The developments came after the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) declared in a statement that it would recognize "East al-Quds as the capital of the State of Palestine and invite all countries to recognize the State of Palestine and East al-Quds as its capital."

SS