Muhammed Ikbal Arslan
08 May 2021•Update: 09 May 2021
LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
The parliament speaker of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Saturday denounced Israel’s aggression in occupied East Jerusalem.
“I condemn the attack by Israeli security forces on hundreds of civilians who were worshipping at Al-Aqsa Mosque on the last Friday of Ramadan,” Onder Sennaroglu said in a message on social media.
He also wished a swift recovery to Turgut Alp Yilmaz, Middle East news editor for Anadolu Agency, who was injured in the violence.
Israeli forces fired stun grenades, tear gas, and rubber-coated bullets to disperse Muslim worshippers from the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims, on Friday evening.
Jews call the area the “Temple Mount” and claim it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
According to the Palestine Red Crescent, at least 205 people have been injured in the Old City and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhoods.
Tensions have run high in the Sheikh Jarrah area all through the week as Israeli settlers have swarmed in after an Israeli court ordered the eviction of Palestinian families.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.
* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk
