A US official on Saturday said that Palestinian Authority president Mahmud
Abbas was among 80 officials from his authority who would be denied visas to
attend the UN General Assembly, where France is leading a push to recognise a
Palestinian state.
The highly unusual decision further aligns President Donald Trump's
administration with Israel's government, which is fighting a war against
Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
Israel adamantly rejects calls for the creation of a Palestinian state and
has sought to lump together the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority with
its rival Hamas which rules Gaza.
Speaking to Turkish journalists on the plane back from China after attending
a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Erdogan said the US
decision was "not in line with the raison d'etre" of the United Nations.
"We believe that the decision should be revised as soon as possible," he
added.
Erdogan, a vocal defender of the Palestinians, has often slammed Israel for
its war on Gaza, accusing the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
of committing "genocide" in the Palestinian territory.
