(Gatestone Institute) Burak Bekdil - Both Turkish President Erdogan and Prime Minister Davutoglu have declared countless times that Gaza and Jerusalem (in addition to Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Somalia and the Maghreb) are Turkey's "domestic affairs." Davutoglu said on November 7: "Al-Aqsa [mosque in Jerusalem] will one day be liberated. The Israelis should know that the oppressed Syrians have a protector. The oppressed Palestinians too have a protector. That protector is Turkey....Al-Quds [Jerusalem] is both our first prayer direction and has been entrusted with us by history." President Erdogan added that protecting Islamic sites in the Holy Land is a sacred mission. The writer, a columnist for the Turkish daily Hurriyet, is a fellow at the Middle East Forum.
2014-11-14 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive