18 January 2018•Update: 18 January 2018
By Merve Yildizalp, Burcu Arik
ANKARA
Family and Social Policy Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya on Thursday received Fawzi al-Juneidi, a Palestinian teen who became a symbol of opposition to U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Minister Kaya and 16-year-old Al-Juneidi, who arrived in Turkey on Tuesday for a three-day visit accompanied by his father Muhammad Al-Juneidi, met in the capital Ankara.
Speaking at the meeting, Kaya hailed the courage of the Palestinian boy. "I am very honored to have this heroic child here," Kaya said, noting that Turkey always stood with Palestine.
Al-Juneidi expressed his appreciation to the minister and the Turkish people. "They [the Israeli state] are occupying our rights, and not just our land," he said.
He said he had witnessed Palestinians being treated very badly in Israeli prisons during his 22-day stay in prison. "The international community ignores this situation," he added.
On Wednesday, al-Juneidi met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the presidential complex.
Al-Juneidi was arrested on Dec. 7 in the West Bank city of Hebron (Al-Khalil) after being dragged on the ground and blindfolded by a band of heavily armed Israeli soldiers.
Following three weeks in Israeli detention, he was finally released on bail and returned to his family on Dec. 28.
After his arrest, a photo of the blindfolded youth became a symbol of fierce Palestinian opposition to the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital -- a move that drew widespread condemnation and protest from across the Arab and Muslim world.
