Turkey-Israel relations continue deteriorating

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish premier Recep Erdogan stressed Sunday that the mosques in occupied Palestine, atop of them the Aqsa Mosque, had never been and would not be part of the Jewish heritage, noting that they were always Islamic holy sites.

“Recently, there were some unilateral Israeli practices which we cannot accept at all,” Erdogan told a delegation of Palestinian journalists in Istanbul.

“We have rejected the Israeli decision regarding the Jewish heritage. They are mosques and cannot be in any way Israeli legacy,” he added.

The Turkish premier also emphasized that the Palestinian issue is a Turkish cause that will never be excluded for one day from his agenda.

“I like you to know well that you have a friend and supporter, that is, Turkey which has always raised its voice at international meetings to support the Palestinian rights, and we will be always ready to act in this way,” the premier said addressing the Palestinian people.

The premier also demanded Israel to end its unjust blockade on the Gaza Strip to end the humanitarian suffering of its people. “There is a word I want to say very clearly, I am not asking for ending the siege on the Gaza Strip because I am Muslim, but my duty as a responsible human being makes me obliged to do so.”

“It is unreasonable that one year after the war on the Gaza Strip, there are five thousand Palestinian families still living in tents,” Isrland cited him as saying.

Many experts maintain that Erdogan’s anti-Israeli statements is a response to US House Foreign Affairs Committee passage of Armenian Genocide resolution, with committee head, Jewish Lobby leader Howard Berman, significantly contributing to the decision.