‘Palestinians Pay Price for Betraying Ottomans’

During a visit to Palestine last week, Turkey-Palestinian Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group Head, Huseyin Tanriverdi, quoted that during a visit to the region of Birth Church, Minister Tamari said, "We could not appreciate the Ottoman Turks. We betrayed them. And we paid the price of this betrayal and we still continue to pay."

Tanriverdi started his speech at a press conference held at the Parliament with, "I have brought the love of an aggrieved Palestinian public, the cries of mothers and children." Tanriverdi said that he had a 1.5-hour talk with the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.

Tanriverdi relayed that Arafat said: "An official delegate from Turkey has come to Palestinian for the first time. Turkey is our real friend. It helps us. You have given the name of Mescid Al-Aqsa. It is yours and protect it."

What the Palestinians have been going through cannot be expressed with the words, Tanriverdi said as he explained that Muslims under 45-years old have not been allowed to attend the Friday prayer at Mescid Al-Aqsa and said strict controls make praying difficult.

Tanriverdi warned that if bloodshed and crime are not stopped in the region, there will be grave developments in the entire Middle East. He said, "An anxious inter-civilization problem emerges. The United Nations (UN) has to perform its task. It is obvious that Israel gets support from somewhere. This support given to Israel has to be ended. Otherwise, this crime has also been perpetrated by the supporting countries of Israel."