US recognition of Jerusalem a 'bomb' in the Mideast: Erdogan

ISTANBUL: The decision by US President Donald Trump to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel is a "bomb" thrown at the entire Middle East, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday.

Erdogan, who has sought to steer often disunited Muslim nations into a coordinated response on the issue, said Muslims would never accept the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The US step is a "new bomb thrown into the lap of the Middle East," Erdogan said in an address marking the opening of a new metro line in Istanbul.

Reaffirming his past accusations that Israel is a "terror state" because of its treatment of the Palestinians, Erdogan added: "Trying to make Jerusalem capital of a terror state is not a situation that can be accepted by Muslims."

On Wednesday, Erdogan chaired a summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) where leaders declared East Jerusalem -- which most countries consider to be under Israeli occupation -- to be the capital of a Palestinian state.