File photo: Turkish vice president Fuat Oktay
Turkey’s vice president on Thursday slammed Israel's new "Jewish nation-state" law.
Fuat Oktay wrote on Twitter that Israel’s parliament, which ignores fundamental rights and freedoms, with the new law has harmed principles of universal law.
"Such legislation is unacceptable for the Turkish Republic. Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine and will continue to be its capital," Oktay stressed, referring to the section of the law saying that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital.
A top Turkish presidential aide on Thursday "strongly condemned" a new law proclaiming Israel a "Jewish nation-state."“It is certainly not possible to accept this racist step that shows its effort to legally erase the Palestinian people from their homeland,” presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalın told Anadolu Agency.“We call on the international community to react against this injustice that happened before the eyes of the whole world,” he added.‘Extremist’ Israeli legislation draws storm of outrageHis remarks came after Israel's Knesset passed a law on Thursday which declares the country to be “the nation-state of the Jewish people”.Kalın also rejected "the efforts of the Israeli government to form an apartheid state."Turkey slams Israel's 'Jewish nation-state' lawEU expresses concern over Israel's Jewish nation-state lawIsrael adopts divisive Jewish nation-state law
Turkish presidential aide condemns 'Jewish state' law
Turkey on Thursday slammed a new Jewish nation-state law passed by Israel's Knesset, saying it "disregards" norms of universal law. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said: “The Jewish nation-state law passed by the Israeli parliament today disregards norms of universal law and ignores the rights of Palestinians.”"The international community must also react to the law, which aims to justify the unlawful occupation of Palestine by the Israeli government and remove the possibility of a two-state solution," it added.EU expresses concern over Israel's Jewish nation-state lawIsrael passed the "nation-state" law earlier on Thursday after months of political argument by a vote of 62 to 55 in a tumultuous Knesset session in which Arab lawmakers slammed what they described as “Israeli racism against the Arab minority.”The law stipulates that "Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it".It also strips Arabic of its designation as an official language alongside Hebrew, downgrading it to a "special status" that enables its continued use within Israeli institutions.142 Palestinians martyred since Gaza rallies beganIsrael adopts divisive Jewish nation-state law
Turkey slams Israel's 'Jewish nation-state' law
Israel's Knesset on Thursday passed a law which declares the country to be “the nation-state of the Jewish people.”
The law was approved 62-55 in a tumultuous Knesset session in which Arab lawmakers slammed what they called “Israeli racism against the Arab minority.”
According to Israeli daily Haaretz, the law “officially defines Israel as the ‘national homeland of the Jewish people’.”
It further states that a “united Jerusalem” is the capital of Israel and that Hebrew is the country's official language, stripping Arabic of its earlier designation as an official language but recognizing its “special status.”
The legislation’s most controversial article, however, which would have paved the way for the creation of “Jewish-only” communities in Israel, was removed before the vote.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed the legislation, describing its passage as a “defining moment for Zionism and Israel”.
“One hundred and twenty-two years after [Zionist leader Theodor] Herzl articulated his vision, we have, with this law, determined the basic principle of our existence,” he said.