Erdoğan: Turkey should maintain balanced ties with Israel to protect Palestinian rights

Speaking during the weekly parliamentary meeting of the ruling AK Party members on Wednesday, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan underlined in his speech Turkey's concern over the al-Aqsa storming by the Israeli forces in the occupied East Jerusalem during the holy month of Ramadan.
"We have observed the Ramadan months under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic or war in the recent years. COVID pandemic prevented world Muslims from fulfilling their religious duties. The mosques and prayer halls were abandoned during the deadly outbreak. We also have embraced this Ramadan amid the tragedy of the Ukraine-Russia war," the Turkish leader said in a statement.
"Al-Aqsa storming got our feelings wounded. I shared Turkey's critical approach toward the Jerusalem issue with every leader, with whom I spoke. We always call on the international community to be responsive to the oppression of Palestinians," Erdoğan added.

"To protect the rights of oppressed Palestinians, Turkey should maintain a well-balanced relationship with Israel. We are determined to hold onto the Palestine cause even if the world community keep silent. Our only wish is to put an end to the oppression in the holy city of Jerusalem, and help people of all faiths live their religions under a peaceful atmosphere," Erdoğan stressed in his remarks.

"Turkey still does not intend to turn a blind eye to the occupation or attacks on holy places in Jerusalem and other Palestinian territories. We will continue to fulfill the requirements of our own history and belief," Erdoğan said.

"For Turkey, political and economic ties with Israel as necessitated by global and regional factors are separate from the Jerusalem cause," Erdoğan pointed out.

In a Tuesday phone call, Erdoğan told Israeli President Isaac Herzog: "We are deeply saddened by the fact that more than 400 Palestinians were injured and 18 people, including children, lost their lives in the events that took place in the West Bank and al-Aqsa Mosque since the beginning of the month of Ramadan."

Herzog visited Turkey in March, in a move seen by analysts as a sign of possible warming in Turkish-Israeli ties.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where the flashpoint al-Aqsa Mosque is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move never recognized by the international community.

TURKEY SEEKS TO ENSURE SECURITY OF BORDERS AND STABILITY OF NEIGHBORS

Turkey has no designs on the another country's land, but instead only wants to ensure the security of its borders and stability of its neighbors, the Turkish president said Wednesday.

Erdoğan said that Turkey's new anti-terror operation across the border into northern Iraq, Operation Claw-Lock, aims to "rid Iraqi lands of terrorists and guarantee the security of our borders."

"The Turkish Armed Forces launched this operation to clear the areas occupied in northern Iraq from terrorists," said Erdoğan, adding that the area has been used by PKK terrorists to prepare and organize terror attacks on Turkish soil.

"We are making every effort to contribute to the strengthening of their territorial integrity and political unity so that our neighbours can live in security and peace," said Erdoğan.

"We will continue to do so. We act with the same aim in Syria as in Iraq," he added.

The National Defense Ministry said it launched Operation Claw-Lock on Monday after reports that the terrorist PKK was planning to launch a large-scale attack, adding that the operation is in line with the UN Charter's principle of self-defense.

In 2020, Turkey launched operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle in the border regions of northern Iraq to ensure the safety of the Turkish people and its frontiers.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.