Erdogan: ‘We, as Muslims, will not take a single step back from our rights over East Jerusalem’

Erdogan: ‘We, as Muslims, will not take a single step back from our rights over East Jerusalem’

 ROBERT SPENCER

Erdogan’s neo-Ottoman revanchism is heating up. One of his supporters is even claiming that Turks hold valid deeds to properties in Jerusalem, dating from the Ottoman era:

Behind this is a core element of Islam. Note that Erdogan says that “as Muslims” they will not step back over their supposed right to East Jerusalem. This is because their claim to East Jerusalem is not based on old Ottoman deeds or anything else except the Islamic principle that any land that was once ruled by Sharia belongs to Muslims forever. That is the basis for the Palestinian jihad, and the reason why a “two-state solution” or any other negotiated settlement will not end the conflict.

“Erdoğan slams "Netanyahu’s ‘our city’ claim on Jerusalem,” Turkish Minute, September 17, 2025:

"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration that Jerusalem belongs solely to Israel, vowing that Turkey will never abandon the Palestinians’ claim to East Jerusalem, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

Netanyahu made his remarks on September 15 at a ceremony in Jerusalem’s City of David, an archaeological park built over the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan just outside the Old City walls.

The event marked the unveiling of the “Pilgrimage Road,” a newly excavated underground passage that Israel says was once used by Jewish worshippers on their way to the ancient Temple Mount more than 2,000 years ago….

Netanyahu then pointedly addressed Erdoğan, saying: “This is our city, Mr. Erdoğan. It’s not your city. It’s our city. It will always be our city. It will not be divided again.”

Israeli media outlets claimed the words were a direct rebuttal to Erdoğan’s 2020 claim in Turkey’s parliament that “Jerusalem is our city, a city from us,” referencing the centuries of Ottoman rule over the city before World War I.

Erdoğan responded on Wednesday in a speech at a groundbreaking ceremony for Turkey’s new foreign ministry complex in Ankara.

“No one can stop us from standing with Gaza’s oppressed, who struggle to survive under Israel’s brutal attacks,” he said.

Erdoğan accused Israel of pursuing a genocidal campaign in Gaza, saying, “Those who think they can build a secure future through tyranny and genocide, at the cost of innocent children’s lives, will lose and drown in the blood they have shed.”

The Turkish president vowed to protect Jerusalem’s sanctity, saying, “We will not allow the Al-Quds al-Sharif [Jerusalem] to be defiled by unworthy hands.”

Referring to Netanyahu, Erdoğan added: “I know the resentment of these Hitler imitators will perhaps never fade. Let them continue their fits of rage. We, as Muslims, will not take a single step back from our rights over East Jerusalem.”

Erdoğan has time and again compared Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler, while Netanyahu has accused Erdoğan of hypocrisy and antisemitism….

“In response to Netanyahu, Erdoğan: We will break back of those who seek to flood our region with blood,” A News, September 17,2025

"In response to Israel’s war-criminal leader Benjamin Netanyahu, President Erdoğan underlined in his comments: “Jerusalem is the shared cause, memory, and heritage of the 2 billion Muslims of the Islamic world. We will not allow foreign hands to defile it. As Muslims, we will not take a single step back from our rights in Eastern Jerusalem. The followers of Hitler will never escape their torment.”…