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Turkey's Interior Minister Vows to "Liberate" Jerusalem, Return It to Turkish Hands
(Times of Israel) Turkey's Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci told a ruling AKP Party conference on Saturday, "Just as we witnessed the liberation of Damascus, Aleppo, and Karabakh, God willing, one day we will also witness the liberation of Jerusalem." He vowed to restore Turkish control to the city that the Ottoman Empire ruled for hundreds of years. Ciftci recalled how he used to pray for God to grant him "governorship of Jerusalem, even if just for a single day. Just as in the past, those lands will be ours once again. God willing, they will come under our sovereignty and dominion once more." Israel's Foreign Ministry responded that "Jerusalem DC (David's capital) shall remain the eternal capital of Israel. Forever." Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote in a Turkish-language statement on X: "Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for 3,000 years and will remain Israel's capital forever. You and the Ottoman Empire that Erdogan dreams of, on the other hand, have collapsed and will never return."