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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on December 17 said Turkey wants to open an embassy in East Jerusalem, following a decision by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state, Turkish media reports.

“We have already declared East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state but we haven’t been able to open our embassy there because Jerusalem is currently under occupation. God willing we will open our embassy there,” Erdoğan said, speaking at a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) meeting in the Central Anatolian province of Karaman.

“Trump has declared Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, with an evangelist and Zionist understanding, with the logic of ‘I have done it and it’s over.’ The U.S. is also moving its embassy there. Those who have taken this step, despite U.N. decisions, has moved with the logic of ‘We don’t recognize you.’ Well, we don’t recognize you either,” he added.

“Do not attempt to undertake a Zionist operation. If you do, the cost of this will be heavy,” he said.

“I summoned the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for an extraordinary meeting. In a week, they all came. I also telephoned the Pope [Francis] and saw that he is of the same opinion as us,” Erdoğan said, referring to the OIC summit in Istanbul earlier this week.

The 57-member OIC on December 13 recognized East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine and invited other countries to follow suit on December 13, countering the U.S.’s recognition of Jerusalem as the “undivided” capital of Israel.

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