The Turkish consulate in Jerusalem, operating in close cooperation with the ‘Palestinian’ Authority in Ramallah, is allegedly conducting illegal construction while preventing—get this—Israeli inspectors from entering the compound. In other words: Erdoğan is building illegally in Jerusalem and the state is doing nothing. The Jerusalem municipality is supposed to step in. A study by the Jerusalem Institute for Applied Policy exposes this construction violation, and former city councilman Yair Gabay has approached the municipality.
1+This has started some kind of complicated bureaucratic process, because after all we’re talking about a foreign mission. But as of now, this consulate—whose representatives are loyal to the PA yet operate from the heart of Israel’s capital—isn’t just continuing to operate, it’s building illegally. At least as far as we know, the diplomats there are currently not allowing city representatives to enter the building.
Former city councilman Yair Gabay said: “The Turkish consulate is trampling our sovereignty in East Jerusalem with a heavy foot. What starts with violating planning and construction laws continues with support for Hamas and harms the interests and national security of all of us. I call on the Prime Minister to take this matter into his own hands and close the Turkish consulate.”
1+We reached out to the relevant officials at the Foreign Ministry, which is responsible along with the Israeli government for the very fact that this consulate continues to operate, and they chose not to comment. The Jerusalem municipality told us: “The municipality works to enforce the law equally throughout the city. Certain operations such as these require coordination with entities external to the municipality, and since no response has been received yet, the municipality has not begun enforcement actions.”
Jerusalem Police responded: “We clarify that to date no official request has been received from the Jerusalem municipality regarding the compound in question. In accordance with the policy of the Jerusalem District Commander, the district’s dedicated demolition unit operates to carry out demolition orders quickly, resolutely and uncompromisingly, while giving top priority to those directly related to aspects of sovereignty, governance and upholding the law.”
We should also note that as far as we’ve been able to determine, the Jerusalem municipality has not yet initiated an official request through proper channels. But we can hope that perhaps this report will cause the authorities to work a bit faster. As of now, the Turkish consulate in Jerusalem, which works with the ‘Palestinian’ Authority, continues to operate and build illegally.