Israeli voices are moving to open a new diplomatic and administrative confrontation with Turkey in Jerusalem, through a plan that calls for restricting the work of its consulate and withdrawing privileges and immunities from its representatives, leading to Ankara being faced with a clear choice: either moving its embassy to the city, or abandoning full diplomatic representation there.
According to a report by journalist Anna Barsky in the Israeli newspaper “Maariv”, a new policy document prepared by the “Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy” proposes that the Israeli government take a series of measures to reduce the activity of the Turkish consulate in Jerusalem and limit the status of its representatives.
The document includes 10 recommendations, the most prominent of which are withdrawing diplomatic privileges, canceling work visas, restricting freedom of movement within Israel, and lifting immunity for diplomatic vehicles, in addition to reconsidering the activity of Turkish institutions operating in the city.
The document was prepared by retired Israeli Ambassador Ran Yishai, head of the center’s research department, who said that the recommendations aim to reduce what he described as “hostile Turkish influence” in Jerusalem, and to strengthen Israel’s application of its sovereignty in the city.
The document is based on the consideration that the Turkish Consulate in Jerusalem does not operate as an accredited mission to Israel, but rather as a body that is primarily active in communicating with the Palestinian Authority. Therefore, according to its authors, there is no justification for Israel to continue granting its representatives all the privileges approved in diplomatic relations between countries.
Yishai believes that Israel has for years allowed the Turkish consulate to operate in Jerusalem in a way that goes beyond its official status, considering that it has turned into a primary center for the policy pursued by Ankara in the city, and operates in a manner that denies Israeli sovereignty over it.
“For years, Türkiye has undermined Israel’s sovereignty, while Israel has turned a blind eye,” Yishai said. The Turkish Consulate in Jerusalem is the locomotive that drives Turkey’s anti-Israel policy in the city, which denies Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem and seeks to restore Türkiye to its leading position in it.
He added: “For decades, Israel has allowed the consulate to operate in Jerusalem as if it were an embassy to the Palestinian Authority. This situation must end.”
One of the basic recommendations calls for withdrawing diplomatic privileges from representatives not officially accredited to Israel, canceling work visas granted to them, restricting their movement within Israeli territory, and lifting the immunity enjoyed by vehicles used by them.
The document also recommends canceling the parking spaces reserved for the mission, withdrawing the tax exemptions granted to it, and reconsidering the exemption from the municipal property tax “Arnona” applied to the buildings used by the Turkish Consulate in Jerusalem.
Other recommendations address the activity of Turkish institutions operating in the city under the auspices of the consulate or with its support. The document calls for examining the activity of the Turkish Yunus Emre Cultural Center, in addition to the activity of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).
The Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy also calls for an investigation into suspicions related to the implementation of illegal construction works within sites linked to these institutions, calling on the authorities, in the event of proven violations or violations in construction, to issue the necessary orders and use their legal powers to impose the required measures.
The document also raises the issue of Turkish diplomats officially accredited to Israel assuming concurrent positions within the Turkish consulate in Jerusalem, as its authors recommend stopping this combination of tasks, considering that it blurs the difference between the Turkish embassy accredited to Israel and the mission that works to communicate with the Palestinians.
In exchange for the proposed restrictions, the document presents Ankara with a clear political alternative, which is that if Turkey wants to have a full diplomatic mission in Jerusalem, it should move its embassy in Israel to the city, similar to the step the United States took in 2018.
In this case, the document believes that Türkiye should close the consulate that communicates with the Palestinian Authority.
The recommendations reflect a more stringent approach towards Turkish activity in Jerusalem, in light of the tense relations between Israel and Turkey, and Israeli criticism of Ankara’s interference in East Jerusalem and its support for Palestinian institutions active in the city.
Officials at the Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy say that over the years, Israel has been content with directing protests and issuing positions, but has refrained from using the administrative, legal, and diplomatic tools available to it, calling on the government to move from a policy of restraint to an active policy of implementation.
According to the center, the goal is not necessarily to immediately close the Turkish consulate, but rather to change the rules of its work, and to confirm that any foreign mission active in Jerusalem cannot benefit from Israeli privileges, and at the same time work in a way that does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the city.
The document does not oblige the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs or other authorities to implement what is stated in it, but it proposes a set of practical steps that can be implemented gradually, starting with withdrawing specific privileges and leading to a radical change in the legal and diplomatic status of the Turkish mission in Jerusalem.
The document concludes that Israel, after years of restraint, is now required to set clear limits to the work of foreign diplomatic missions in the city, and to reinforce the message that whoever wants to work in Jerusalem as a full diplomatic mission must do so based on recognition of Israeli sovereignty over it.
