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ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey intends to open an embassy in East Jerusalem, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, days after leading calls at a summit of Muslim leaders for the world to recognize it as the capital of Palestine.

It was not clear how he would carry out the move, as Israel controls all of Jerusalem and calls the city its indivisible capital. Palestinians want the capital of a future state they seek to be in East Jerusalem, which Israel took in a 1967 war and later annexed in a move not recognized internationally.

The Muslim nation summit was a response to U.S. President Donald Trumps Dec. 6 decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital. His move broke with decades of U.S. policy and international consensus that the citys status must be left to Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

Erdogan said in a speech to members of his AK Party in the southern province of Karaman that Turkeys consulate general in Jerusalem was already represented by an ambassador.

God willing, the day is close when officially, with Gods permission, we will open our embassy there, Erdogan said.

Jerusalem, revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, is home to Islams third holiest shrine as well as Judaisms Western Wall - both in the eastern sector - and has been at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades.

Foreign embassies in Israel, including Turkeys, are located in Tel Aviv, reflecting Jerusalems unresolved status.

A communique issued after Wednesdays summit of more than 50 Muslim countries, including U.S. allies, said they considered Trumps move to be a declaration that Washington was withdrawing from its role as sponsor of peace in the Middle East.

Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Mark Heinrich

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TURKISH PRESIDENT Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife, Emine, arrive for the G-20 leaders summit in Hamburg, Germany.. (photo credit: REUTERS)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has emerged as the most vocal opponent of US President Donald Trumps long-overdue decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Erdogan being the poster boy of the campaign against Trumps decision says something about the moral weight of the cause.

Erdogan, as rotating president of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, organized an emergency summit to discuss the matter, which was attended by such moral luminaries as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, whose country is responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of Sunnis, and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and war crimes.

Israel, railed Erdogan is a state of occupation...and the US is a partner in bloodshed.

This is the same Erdogan who exploited a failed coup in 2016 to launch a witch hunt against any and all political opponents. Reports quoted in September by the Brookings Institutes Amanda Sloat found that at least 150,000 people have been fired from government and academia, 50,000 or more have been jailed for alleged collusion and 150 journalists have been imprisoned. Sloat described her impressions from a visit to Turkey as a paranoid society living under a state of emergency that has had a chilling effect on public opposition.

The governments elastic definition of terrorism enables it to crack down not only on Turkish nationals, but also on foreigners such as Protestant US Pastor Andrew Brunson.

Under the pretext of public security, Erdogans Turkey has for an indefinite period banned, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights groups from holding panels, marches, film screenings and exhibitions.

And, of course, there is the ongoing US trial involving Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-Turkish gold trader, who has implicated Erdogan as one of the political officials involved in circumventing US sanctions against Iran in a gold-for-oil scam.

Erdogans attack on Israel and the US is his way of shifting attention away from his many political problems.

By making himself out to be the champion of the Palestinian people and the enemy of Israel and the US the Turkish president has already succeeded in endearing himself to the Muslim world. While Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen are involved in sectarian clashes between Sunnis and Shiites, Erdogan is gaining points by chastising Arab nations for abandoning the Palestinians.

It is not the pursuit of liberty for Palestinians that motivates Erdogan. A man who denies basic freedoms to his own people has little interest in seeing the creation of a democratic Palestinian state that protects freedom of expression. Nor is there any real prospect that establishing a Palestinian state under current Palestinian rule would lead to such as state. Rather, his objective is to solidify an anti-Israel, anti-US axis.

Erdogan, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah, Qatar and the mullahs of Iran share common interests, despite sectarian and cultural differences. Rallying around the Palestinian cause is a way of strengthening this alliance and affording it legitimacy in the eyes of Muslims.

In contrast, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States, as well as Egypt, Jordan and anti-Hezbollah forces inside Lebanon, rightly identify Israel and the US as important allies in the fight against Iran and ISIS, the two most destabilizing forces in the Middle East. Iran, not Israel, is responsible for the death and suffering in the region, by its expansionist meddling in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon.

We understand Erdogans endgame and the worldview that motivates him. He has never claimed to be a democrat who believes in Western ideals of freedom and human rights. He has never tried to hide his support for Hamas and his close ties with Iran.

What is truly incomprehensible is the stance of progressives in the US and Europe who have joined the Erdogan alliance in condemning Trumps decision.

What motivates them to align themselves with nihilistic Islamists against the US president and Israel?

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Turkey's president slammed a U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militant group Sunday and said he'll clear his country's border with Syria of "terrorists."

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a rally in the central province of Karaman his country would not allow "terror nests" near its border, referring to areas held by the People's Protection Units or YPG in northern Syria.

Turkey considers the YPG an extension of a Kurdish insurgency within its own borders, and launched an operation in August 2016 to clear part of its border of their and the Islamic State group's presence.

Erdogan announced an expanded list of areas to be cleared. "We will clean Afrin of terrorists, we will clean Manbij of terrorists. We will clean Tel Abyad, Ras al-Ayn and Qamishli of terrorists," he said.

Turkey has a military presence in the western Syrian province of Idlib as part of a de-escalation agreement struck with Russia and Iran. The province borders YPG-controlled Afrin and Turkey has threatened to attack the group there.

Erdogan has frequently expressed frustration with the Syrian Kurdish militant group's presence at Turkey's border. But it's rare that he mentions Qamishli, a town further east controlled by both the Syrian Kurds and Syrian President Bashar Assad's government.

Turkish officials regularly criticize the U.S. for backing and arming Syrian Kurds in combatting IS, a sticky issue in already tense bilateral relations.

Last month, Turkey's foreign minister said President Donald Trump promised to stop arming the militant group but the Pentagon said it was reviewing the process, stopping short of announcing a halt to weapons transfers.

Erdogan chided the NATO member's allies, saying they "will really be our allies when they stop working with structures we consider terror organizations in Syria."

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Erdogan says Turkey will clear border of Syrian Kurds

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FILE IMAGE: AFP Photo/Nazeer al-Khatib

The Turkish military operation in Syrias Idlib province is almost finished, Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

The operation in Idlib was largely completed, Erdogan toldhis ruling Justice and Development (AK) Partys parliamentary group.

The president added thatthe Afrin issue is ahead of us.

We can come suddenly at night. We can suddenly hit at night, Erdogan said.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) entered the province of Idlib within the framework of agreements reached at peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The TAF was set to monitor a cease-fire and to establsih observation posts along the line between the Syrian areas of Idlib and Afrin.

Turksih forces were deployed south of an area of Afrin controlled by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military formations known as YPG and YPJ. The US-led coalitiondescribes the Kurdish forces and few Arab units joined them as the Syrian Democratic Forces.

In turn, Ankara says that the PYD/YPG/YPJ are a branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that is a designated terrorist gorup in many countries including Turkey, the US and EU member states.

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The idea of moderate Islam was invented by the West and is being used to weaken the ancient religion, Turkeys President Recep Erdogan has said in reference to Saudi Arabias reforms, while also lashing out at the EUs discrimination of Muslims.

Last month, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, vowed to restore moderate Islam to the kingdom considered to be "home" of the religion. The Gulf monarchy currently follows a Salafist or Wahhabi version of Islam that is often described as being "ultraconservative" and administered through Islamic Sharia law. In what appears to be a direct reference to Saudi Arabias Crown Prince, Erdogan denounced a moderate interpretation of Islam in a speech delivered at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Womens Advisory Council on Friday.

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The term moderate Islam is being lathered up again. The patent of moderate Islam belongs to the West. There is no moderate or immoderate Islam; Islam is one. The aim of using such terms is to weaken Islam, Erdogan said in Ankara.

Perhaps the person voicing this concept thinks it belongs to him. No, it does not belong to you, he added, recalling, that he was asked about moderate Islam at meetings in the European Parliament many years ago.

The thrust of Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030, is to socially transform the Wahhabi brand of Sunni Islam, which bans gender mixing, concerts and cinemas. Starting in the summer of next year, women in Saudi Arabia will be permitted to drive. In the new year, women would also be allowed to attend sporting events as the monarchy continues to usher in its liberalization reforms.

Last month the Prince unveiled a plan to construct a $500-billion state of the art city across its borders into Jordan and Egypt. The new mega-city is to be erected with the aim of diversifying the Arab countrys economy andreducing its dependency on oil.

Riyadhs reforms have been accompanied by a massive anti-corruption drive, which saw a purge of the kingdoms political and business elite, including 11 princes. The kingdoms closest ally, the US, has welcomed the campaign, with President Donald Trump saying those arrested had been milking their country for years.

READ MORE: 11 Saudi princes, 4 ministers arrested as crown prince unleashes crackdown on corruption

They say we will return to moderate Islam, but they still dont give women the right to drive. Is there such a thing in Islam? I guess they will give this right when they turn to the moderate one, Erdogan noted Friday.

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The Turkish president also lashed out against the EU for approving a series of so-called burka bans introduced in recent years, calling it a discrimination against Muslim women.

"Headscarves are gradually being banned in EU states with the public - personal space trick, attempting to bar Muslim women from entering social life. Attempts to incarcerate Muslim women in their homes is spreading like a virus," Erdogan said.

Traditional Islamic head and face coverings have long been controversial in Europe, where they are often seen as incompatible with secular values. France became the first European country to impose a ban on full-face coverings in 2011. Belgium followed suit shortly thereafter. German MPs approved a partial ban on full-face veils this April, saying its the countrys duty to present itself in an ideologically and religiously neutral manner. Austrias parliament also endorsed a package of measures that outlaws distribution of the Koran and wearing traditional Islamic full-face veils in public.

"Those who are teaching us lessons on human rights are unfortunately applauding as the most basic human rights are being trampled in their countries," said Erdogan.

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