TURKEY’S TOP CLERIC WELCOMES PALESTINIAN FLAG AT UN

Ankara, 18 Dzulhijjah 1436/2 October 2015 (MINA) – Turkey’s Head of Presidency for Religious Affairs Mehmet Gormez has congratulated Palestinians for now having their own flag hoisted at the UN headquarters in New York.

In remarks made after meeting Palestinian Authority’s Turkey ambassador Dr. Fead Mustafa at his office in Ankara Thursday, Gormez hoped that the Palestinian flag would be raised throughout Palestinian lands.

The Palestinian flag was raised for the first time at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday during the UN General Assembly, Anadolu Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Gormez also commented on the recent Israeli raid to the Al-Aqsa complex. “I consider the attacks on women during the recent Al-Aqsa violations as an extremely degrading act for all Muslims and supporters of freedom. I want to point out this to women rights advocates who take action if there is violence against a woman in any part of the world,” he said.

Mustafa described Gormez’s recent trip to Palestine on May 2015 as creating a “permanent effect in the minds and hearts of Palestinian people”.

Backed by Israeli troops, Israeli settlers had attacked the Muslim holy site Al-Aqsa complex repeatedly and also clashed with Palestinians.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world’s third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the “Temple Mount,” claiming it was the site of two prominent Jewish temples in ancient times.

Some extremist Jewish groups have called for the demolition of the Al-Aqsa Mosque so that a Jewish temple might be built in its place.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state in a move never recognized by the international community. (T/P002/R04)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)