Protecting Al-Aqsa Means Defending Humanity and Peace
Istanbul, MINA – Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that protecting the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Al-Quds (East Jerusalem) means defending humanity, peace, and respecting various religions.
“The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is facing more harassment, and the identity of the ancient city is being erased by Israel step by step,” Erdogan said in a speech in Istanbul, before the Parliamentary League for Al-Quds, Anadolu Agency reported Friday.
He said, Turkiye will continue this struggle with the determination to protect the holy city in Palestine.
“My ancestors served Jerusalem for 400 years, their legacy cannot be erased,” Erdogan said, recalling the Ottoman era.
“Anyone looking for a modern pharaoh need not look far, just look at those (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) who have mercilessly killed 35,000 Palestinians in the last 203 days,” Erdogan added, referring to Israel’s months-long offensive on the Strip. Gaza.
“Netanyahu, like previous criminals, has etched his name in history, without shame as the butcher of Gaza,” Erdogan added.
“Because Palestinians in Gaza have resisted for 203 days despite overwhelming odds, no one can expect us to remain silent in the face of genocide,” he said.
“We will continue to see our Hamas brothers, who defend their homeland from invaders, as the Palestinian National Resistance,” said the President.
Erdogan further said that Turkiye was the only country that imposed export restrictions on Israel on 54 product groups.
He added that Turkey is also at the forefront of aid to Gaza, as since October 7, Ankara has sent nearly 50,000 tons of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip via 13 planes and nine ships.
He also said that US unconditional military and diplomatic support for Israel did not contribute to a solution, but instead exacerbated the problems in Gaza.
“Despite 35,000 people being mercilessly killed in Gaza, the approval of a $25 billion military aid package to Israel by the US Senate is the clearest indication of this,” Erdogan added, referring to the new aid package passed last week for Israel.
“When it comes to Israel, Western values including freedom, democracy, the rule of law, freedom of expression, thought and the press have been forgotten and quickly put aside,” he said.
President Turkiye also praised the Jerusalem Parliamentary League as the global voice and breath of the Palestinian struggle. (T/RE1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
