Türkiye condemns Israeli far-right minister’s storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque

ISTANBUL 

Türkiye on Monday condemned an Israeli far-right minister’s storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In a press statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said: “We condemn today’s raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque by a member of the Israeli government, the raising of the flag of the occupying state by a member of Parliament at Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the provocative actions carried out by extremist settlers during a march in Jerusalem.”

The statement said that such actions are “a manifestation of Israel’s ongoing policies of genocide and forced displacement against the Palestinian people” and that they represent the Israeli effort to “change the historical and demographic identity of the occupied Palestinian territories and to annex them.”

The ministry said that “such actions by the Netanyahu government will never change the historical and legal status of Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

More than 1,500 illegal settlers have forced their way into the mosque complex since early morning under police protection to mark the occupation of East Jerusalem, with many performing provocative rituals in the mosque’s courtyards.

Earlier, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday to mark the Israeli occupation of the city, triggering a wave of condemnations.

“There are actually a large number of Jews flocking here, and it’s a joy to see this,” Ben-Gvir said in a video of him inside the mosque complex.

“Today, Jews can pray and prostrate here. We thank God for that,” he said.

The extremist minister was joined in his tour by several Israeli ministers, including Minister of the Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Yitzhak Wasserlauf, and Knesset member Yitzhak Kroizer.

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war on Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli authorities have imposed strict measures limiting Palestinians’ access from the occupied West Bank into East Jerusalem.

Palestinians consider these restrictions as part of Israel’s broader efforts to Judaize East Jerusalem, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, and erase its Arab and Islamic identity.

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