Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meeting with Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh in Istanbul. (WAFA Images)

ISTANBUL, Saturday, May 04, 2019 (WAFA) – Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh met late Friday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of his participation in the opening of the Chamlija Mosque in Istanbul, the largest mosque in Turkey, and handed him a letter from President Mahmoud Abbas on the challenges facing the Palestinian issue and the leadership’s efforts to overcome them.

The Prime Minister discussed with President Erdogan the latest political developments, stressing Palestinian leadership’s rejection of the so-called deal century, saying that any initiative that does not meet the minimum of the rights of the Palestinian people is doomed to failure.

"The United States is practicing blackmail," Shtayyeh said, expecting the near announcement of an economic plan that will not talk about a sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 borders. “This goes in line with the trend of extremism in Israeli society that brought Benjamin Netanyahu back to power," he said.

The Prime Minister added: "Israel‘s actions on the ground have destroyed the components of the Palestinian state, through the Judaization of Jerusalem, settlement expansion, siege of the Gaza Strip and talk about the annexation of the West Bank."

He briefed Erdogan on the difficult financial situation facing his government as a result of what he described as the Israeli piracy of Palestinian money, adding that he is ready to visit Gaza immediately to end the division as per the 2017 reconciliation agreement since this is one of the tasks of his government when he was designated as prime minister.

For his part, President Erdo?an congratulated Shtayyeh on his assumption of the office of prime minister and expressed his gratitude for his participation in the opening of a new Turkish mosque. He also emphasized Turkey‘s support for the Palestinian people with all it can do.

He said that the United States has violated international conventions by moving its embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing it as the capital of Israel, which he said was a provocation to the feelings of millions of Muslims around the world who also sense the sanctity of Jerusalem.

The Turkish president stressed the importance of continuing efforts to achieve Palestinian reconciliation so that the Palestinians will become a unified body in facing the Israeli occupation, and he expressed Turkey‘s readiness to provide all support to achieve it.

He stressed that the Turkish position is consistent with international resolutions and conventions that support the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital.

M.K.