As Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Türkiye was the first to condemn the act strongly. Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın said he expected the same from the international community. Kalın told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Wednesday that the international community should display the same determination, react to the provocation, and mount pressure on the Israeli government.
Kalın said Türkiye openly condemned the assault he described as "a reckless raid of Israeli security forces where they fired tear gas and rubber bullets on worshippers." "Allowing fanatical Zionists into Al-Aqsa Mosque is a disaster of its own," Kalın said.
He said the latest attacks on Al-Aqsa and arrests of Palestinian civilians were a means for the Israeli government to "cover up its internal predicament," referring to weeks-long unrest over a judicial overhaul proposal by the administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Turkish official also stressed that Ankara would continue to "oppose any attempt to change the religious and historical status of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa mosque."
