Türkiye strongly condemned the far-right Israeli security minister’s storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque Complex in occupied east Jerusalem, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.
“We strongly condemn the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by an Israeli Minister under the protection of security forces,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry warned that the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza, as well as the provocations by Israeli authorities aimed at altering the historical status quo of Al-Aqsa Mosque, poses a threat to security and stability in the region.
It continued by urging the global community to take necessary measures against Israeli violations.
Far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir raided the compound on Thursday, triggering angry reactions from the Palestinian Authority and Jordan, criticizing the far-right politician for deliberate provocation.
Ben-Gvir has repeatedly defied the Israeli government’s longstanding ban on Jewish prayer at the site in Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem.
Holding far-right views on Palestinians and having called for their displacement, Ben-Gvir has repeatedly joined Israeli settlers in storming the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in East Jerusalem.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world’s third-holiest site. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.