Turkish President Erdogan says Trump's Mideast peace plan 'absolutely unacceptable'
Trump unveils Mideast plan favourable to Israel, angering Palestinians
Ankara, Jan 29: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lambasted a Middle East plan unveiled by US counterpart Donald Trump as "absolutely unacceptable" in comments published Wednesday.
"Jerusalem is sacred for Muslims. The plan to give Jerusalem to Israel is absolutely unacceptable. This plan ignores Palestinians' rights and is aimed at legitimising Israel's occupation," Erdogan said, quoted by CNN Turk broadcaster.
"The plan outlined will not serve peace or bring about a solution," he added.
Trump revealed Tuesday the long-awaited plan aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying Jerusalem would remain Israel's "undivided capital".
As part of the plan, future Palestinian statehood would be based on a series of strict conditions -- including requiring the future state to be "demilitarised." Turkey-Israel relations are currently tense while Erdogan regards himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause.
When Washington recognised the capital of Israel as Jerusalem in 2017 and moved the embassy there, Turkish officials repeatedly criticised Trump's decision.
President Donald Trump has released his long delayed Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, promising "a new dawn," but angry Palestinians called it biased and deserving to go in the "dustbin of history."
Standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House's East Room, Trump said on Tuesday that his plan could succeed where decades of previous US attempts to intervene had failed.
"Together we can bring about a... new dawn in the Middle East," Trump said to an enthusiastic audience that included throngs of Israeli and Jewish American guests -- but apparently no Palestinian representatives.
They are flat out rejecting the plan, which grants Israel much of what it has sought in decades of international diplomacy, namely control over Jerusalem as its "undivided" capital, rather than a city to share with the Palestinians. The plan also lets Israel annex West Bank settlements.
Trump praised Israel for taking "a giant step toward peace" with the plan, which lays out a vision for future Palestinian statehood if a series of strict conditions are met.
These include requiring the future Palestinian state to be "demilitarized," while formalising Israeli sovereignty over settlements built in occupied territory.
The US president, who was followed at the podium by Netanyahu, painted a future where some USD 50 billion in investments would eradicate the misery gripping Palestinians today, while allowing Israel never "to compromise its security."
Criticizing previous US diplomatic efforts as overly vague, Trump noted that his version was 80 pages long and contained a map depicting the proposed future neighbouring states.
However, the Palestinians angrily rejected the entire plan.
"This conspiracy deal will not pass. Our people will take it to the dustbin of history," Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said.
Trump promised a "contiguous" future Palestinian state, addressing the current situation where Israel controls broad territory separating the two main population centers of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
But the map showed the West Bank remaining riddled with Jewish settlements linked to Israel and only a long road tunnel connecting the area with the seaside Gaza Strip.
The plan makes clear that Israel is free to annex its settlements on Palestinian lands right away.
On the flashpoint issue of Jerusalem, Trump said Israel should retain control over the city as its "undivided capital," Trump said. At the same time, the Palestinians would be allowed to declare a capital within occupied East Jerusalem, he said.
The Hamas Islamist movement, which runs the Gaza Strip, said it could never accept compromise on Jerusalem being capital of a future state.
The announcement came as both Trump and Netanyahu fight for their political futures.
Trump is in the midst of an impeachment battle over his alleged abuse of power and he faces a difficult reelection in November.
Netanyahu was formally indicted on three corruption charges Tuesday after he abandoned an attempt to seek parliamentary immunity.
His right-wing Likud faces a neck-and-neck race with rival Benny Gantz's centrist Blue and White party in a month. But he is expected to benefit from the high-profile partnership with Trump.
Netanyahu called the proposal "the deal of the century" and said to Trump "you have been the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House." Trump said he had written to Abbas to enlist his support.
"I explained to (Abbas) that the territory allocated for his new state will remain open and undeveloped for a period of four years," Trump said. "This could be the last opportunity they will ever have."
Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who authored the plan behind the scenes but had minimal contact with Palestinian negotiators, was similarly blunt, telling them not to "screw up this opportunity."
"I think that they will have a very hard time looking at the international community in the face, saying they're victims," he told CNN.
Trump's plan triggered immediate condemnation on the streets of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with demonstrations expected to continue through the week.
Thirteen people were wounded in the West Bank in clashes with the Israeli army, the Red Crescent said.
There was also anger from Israeli hardliners. Transport Minister Bezalel Smotrich, from the far-right Yemina union, said his party "won't under any conditions agree to recognition, whether explicit or implicit, of a Palestinian state."
The ambassadors from three Arab nations - Oman, the UAE and Bahrain - were at the White House, providing some evidence of Trump's claim to have growing support around the region.
But international reaction was at best cautiously positive.
Saudi Arabia said it "appreciates" Trump's efforts and called for direct Israeli-Palestinian talks.
Russia, a growing force in Mideast politics, sounded skeptical.
"We do not know if the American proposal is mutually acceptable or not," Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Russian news agencies.
Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said the bloc would "study and assess" the US proposals, while Germany's foreign minister said "only a negotiated two-state solution, acceptable to both sides" would work.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called it a "serious proposal, reflecting extensive time and effort."
Among the strongest foreign condemnations were from Turkey, which branded the plan "stillborn" and Iran, which called it "doomed to fail."
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Tribal man brings dead sister's skeleton to bank to withdraw money from her account
Keonjhar (PTI): A tribal man in Odisha's Keonjhar district on Monday brought the skeleton of his dead sister to a bank to withdraw the money deposited in her name, police said.
The incident occurred at Maliposi branch of Odisha Grameen Bank located at Patana block of Keonjhar district. The man was identified as Jeetu Munda (50) of Dianali village. He was seeking to withdraw Rs 20,000 from the bank account of his elder sister, Kalra Munda (56), who died on January 26, 2026.
"I have run several times to the bank, and the people there told me to bring the account holder to withdraw money deposited in her name. Though I told them that she had died, they did not listen to me and insisted on bringing her to the bank. Therefore, out of frustration, I dug the grave and brought out her skeleton as proof of her death," an illiterate Jeetu Munda told reporters.
Patana Police Station Inspector in charge (IIC) Kiran Prasad Sahu, who reached the bank after getting information, said, "Jeetu is an illiterate tribal man. He does not know what the legal heir or nominee is. The bank officials have failed to make him understand the procedure to withdraw money from the dead person's account."
However, after the incident, the police assured Jeetu Munda that they would facilitate the withdrawal of money from the bank account of his dead sister. Later, the skeleton was again buried at the graveyard in presence of police.
Meanwhile, local Block Development Officer (BDO) Manas Dandpat said that he was not approached by anyone for the legal heir of late Kalra Munda. "Today only, I came to know about it. We will see what can be done to resolve the issue," the BDO said.
Meanwhile, bank sources said that the nominee in Kalra Munda's bank account was also dead. Therefore, Jeetu Munda was the lone claimant over the money deposited in her name.
The local administration has directed the bank officers to make arrangements and ensure that Jeetu Munda, who is the only claimant as per the rules, gets the money as soon as possible.
