Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan strongly responded to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements regarding Jerusalem during his speech at the TEKNOFEST event held in Istanbul. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
He emphasized that no matter the level of pressure, Turkey and the Muslim world will never back down from protecting Jerusalem. Erdoğan noted in his speech that Jerusalem is a sacred city not only for Muslims but for all humanity.
According to him, any threat to Jerusalem, the first Qibla, is an attack against the dignity of all humanity. Strict measures must be taken against such oppression and aggression.
These statements were made following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit on September 15 to the controversial "City of David" archaeological site along with the U.S. Secretary of State. Netanyahu claimed Jerusalem's history based on the ancient "Silwan inscription" from the eighth century BC and declared that this city belongs to Israel forever.
In response, Erdoğan firmly stated that not only the 2700-year-old inscription but any ancient artifacts belonging to Jerusalem will not be handed over to Israel. He also declared that murderers stained with the blood of innocent people have no right to unilaterally decide the fate of Jerusalem.
The Turkish president called Jerusalem a place of honor for Muslims and all humanity and stressed that any attack on this sacred land will be strongly condemned by the international community. A few days earlier, Erdoğan compared the Israeli Prime Minister to Adolf Hitler and declared that Jerusalem, the common heritage of two billion Muslims, will never be left unprotected.
It should be recalled that Israel occupied East Jerusalem after the Six-Day War in 1967 and declared it its undivided capital. The international community, however, insists that East Jerusalem should be the capital of an independent Palestinian state.
In recent years, Israel's aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy sites have been sharply condemned on the international stage.
