Erdogan: We won't allow Palestinian lands to be offered to anyone else

"I would like to reiterate that Al Quds Al-Sharif, the holy site of three religions and our first Kiblah, is a red line for all Muslims worldwide," Erdogan said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (photo credit: HANDOUT/REUTERS)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
(photo credit: HANDOUT/REUTERS)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan marked the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan on Sunday, in a video message on Twitter and reiterated <a href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/analysis-israel-turkey-relations-could-be-in-for-a-change-628918">Turkey</a>&rsquo;s support for Palestinians.<br /> <br /> &ldquo;We will not allow the Palestinian lands to be offered to anyone else,&rdquo; Erdoğan said in the video message addressed to US Muslims.<br /> <br /> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">President <a href="https://twitter.com/RTErdogan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RTErdogan</a>&rsquo;s message for U.S. Muslims on Eid al-Fitr:<br /> <br /> &ldquo;I congratulate my American Muslim brothers and sisters&rsquo; Eid al-Fitr on behalf of the citizens of the Republic of Turkey.&rdquo; <a href="https://t.co/WvwGq53P79">pic.twitter.com/WvwGq53P79</a></p> &mdash; Turkish Presidency (@trpresidency) <a href="https://twitter.com/trpresidency/status/1264615898326814720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 24, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <br /> &ldquo;I would like to reiterate that al-Quds al-Sharif, the holy site of three religions and our first Kiblah, is a red line for all Muslims worldwide,&rdquo; he added, in reference to Jerusalem&rsquo;s Temple Mount.<br /> <br /> Erdoğan regularly attacks Israel, and in December he insisted that <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Erdogan-bashes-Israel-calls-on-Muslim-to-unite-against-the-West-610375">Turkey was a victim</a> of &ldquo;terrorist attacks&rdquo; because of its &ldquo;principled stance&rdquo; against &ldquo;oppression in Jerusalem.&rdquo; He also claimed that Turkey is the &ldquo;lone voice&rdquo; standing up for Palestinians today.<br /> <br /> In his Twitter message, Erdoğan also attacked the plans of Israel&rsquo;s government to annex parts of the West Bank in the upcoming months. Turkey&rsquo;s leader has long opposed US President Donald Trump&rsquo;s Deal of the Century and claimed that, &ldquo;Last week we witnessed that a new occupation and annexation project, which disregards Palestine&rsquo;s sovereignty and international law, was put into action by Israel.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> The annexation of 30% of Area C of the West Bank could begin to move forward as early as July 1, under the terms of Israel&rsquo;s new coalition agreement signed earlier this month between <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/netanyahu-gantz-will-take-a-while-to-decide-on-annexation-state-dept-627958">Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and new Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz</a>.<br /> <br /> The populist president also addressed the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. &ldquo;I wish Allah&rsquo;s mercy upon our brothers and sisters, who lost their lives because of COVID-19, patience to their families, and a speedy recovery to those receiving treatment,&rdquo; he added.<br /> <br /> Erdoğan&rsquo;s anti-Israel stance did not prevent an <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/el-al-plane-lands-in-turkey-with-coronavirus-treatment-equipment-629099">EL AL flight landing in Turkey</a> on Sunday to collect humanitarian aid and equipment to help the US fight COVID-19.<br />