Dozens participated in a rally Friday at Sultan Mehmet Fatih mosque in Istanbul in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the occupation of East Jerusalem and in protest at the escalating Judaization activities and incursions in Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque.
In the rally organized by the Turkish Association for Solidarity with Palestine FIDDER the participants called for ending the Israeli occupation of Jerusalem and Palestine and returning the usurped rights of the Palestinian people.
Head of FIDDER Mohammed Msheinesh condemned the Israeli systematic violations in Jerusalem which are deliberately aimed at provoking the feelings of Muslims including holding the government’s meeting under al-Aqsa Mosque in the holy month of Ramadan and intensifying the settlers’ break ins into al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards.
Msheinesh affirmed that Jerusalem is an Arab and Islamic city and that being under occupation does not change anything of its historical identity no matter how long it lasts.
He called on the Arab and Muslim governments including the Turkish government to assume their duty towards the holy city and to act at the regional and international levels to counter the Israeli practices and Judaization projects there.
The protesters confirmed their solidarity with the Jerusalemite people and expressed their support for the legitimate Palestinian resistance and their rejection of labeling it as a form of “terrorism”.
For his part the former Yemeni MP Sheikh Mohammed al-Sadiq al-Mughlas called on the Arab and Muslim nation to support Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque against the Israeli violations.
Muharram Gonesh one of the injured in the Mavi Marmara massacre called on the protesters as well as all concerned civil society institutions and international organizations to work to expose the Israeli practices and preserve the Islamic identity of Jerusalem.
