Turkish foreign minister slams Israeli efforts to ‘Judaise’ Jerusalem

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has criticised the Israeli government's actions to claim Jerusalem, calling it "unacceptable" and warning against the "complete Judaisation" of the city.

"The schemes being played here, aimed at fully Judaising Jerusalem, stripping it of its international identity, as well as its Muslim and Christian identities, and imposing a single-religion approach, are, of course, unacceptable,” Fidan told Palestinian Television in an interview.

On Türkiye’s efforts to protect Jerusalem’s identity, Fidan emphasised that Jerusalem is an important symbol of the Palestinian cause and drew attention to the fact that Israel continued to take all kinds of provocative actions in Jerusalem with the support it received.

He said Jerusalem could be a city of peace and unity, representing the world's monotheistic religions, but Israel insists on erasing all Muslim and Christian symbols and dominating the city.

This cannot continue, he warned. "This cycle of oppression will break at some point."

Displacement of Palestinians 'unacceptable'

Fidan also rejected the idea of Palestinian displacement when asked about US President Donald Trump's controversial remarks suggesting the relocation of Palestinians from Gaza, saying it was "unacceptable".

He described such proposals as historically ignorant and emphasised the international consensus supporting a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, as reflected in the recent UN vote.

"There is no other political project in the world that has more support than this view. Yet, it is tragic that a two-state solution, which has such broad general acceptance, cannot be implemented in practice," he said.

Regarding the future of the Gaza ceasefire, Fidan warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's military attacks could resume after the prisoner exchanges are complete.

"The only thing that can hold him (Netanyahu) back is a realistic stance from the international community, meaning a stance that completely isolates Israel."

Damage to US credibility

Noting that Egypt, Qatar, and the US are guarantors of the Gaza ceasefire deal, the minister stressed that Washington must pressure Israel to comply with the terms of the deal.

Discussing the possibility of such pressure not being applied, Fidan said, "If Netanyahu starts the war again with US backing, the US’ already battered credibility will sink even lower, and this distortion in the international system will prolong the crisis."

Commenting on Netanyahu’s statements about going to the US to "redraw the Middle East map” with Trump, Fidan pointed out that the people of the region are honourable and that they have seen these kinds of projects by "problematic figures" many times before.

But these efforts always end up in the "dustbin of history," he added.