Turkey on Monday condemned Israeli settlers who entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied east Jerusalem, raised Israeli flags and sang Israel’s national anthem under the protection of Israeli police.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the incident was carried out by Israeli extremist groups and included the display of the Israeli flag and the singing of “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem.
Palestinian and Jordanian reports said the settlers entered the compound on Sunday through the Mughrabi Gate, the entrance used by non-Muslim visitors and controlled by Israeli authorities.
The reports said the group raised flags near the Dome of the Rock, a landmark inside the Al-Aqsa compound, and chanted inside the courtyards.
A Jerusalem-based monitoring group said video from the incident showed 10 settlers displaying seven Israeli flags inside the compound before singing the anthem.
The incident drew condemnation from Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which said the act violated the historical and legal status of the site.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is Islam’s third-holiest site and is part of a compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site.
Under a longstanding arrangement known as the status quo, non-Muslims may visit the compound at certain times, but Jewish prayer there is barred.
The site is administered by the Jordanian-appointed Islamic Waqf, while Israel controls access to the compound.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the incident was aimed at undermining the historical and legal status of Jerusalem, particularly the Al-Aqsa Mosque. It said the acts violated international law and risked deepening instability in the region.
Turkey called on the international community to increase pressure on Israel over what Ankara described as dangerous provocations and violations against Muslim and Christian holy sites.
The statement came weeks after Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the compound and after thousands of Israeli nationalists marched through Jerusalem’s Old City on Jerusalem Day, an annual event marking Israel’s occupation of east Jerusalem in 1967.
Palestinians view such visits and marches as part of an Israeli effort to entrench control over east Jerusalem, which they want as the capital of a future state.