Young people should not neglect Palestinian cause: Turkish religious official

ANKARA

The world’s young people should not neglect or forget the Palestinian cause, the head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate said Friday.

Noting the recent international headlines on Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa, Ali Erbas said: “In 1948, an occupation state (Israel) was established there, with the plans of the Europeans, especially the UK,” referring to the 1917 Balfour Declaration.

This state “occupied Palestinian lands. Since that day, this pain has continued,” he told university students in the capital Ankara.

He added that they are working hard to explain the persecution taking place there to the world.

Tensions that started in East Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan spread to Gaza as a result of Israeli assaults on worshippers in the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

The escalation resulted in airstrikes by Israel on Gaza, which has left at least 243 Palestinians dead and more than 1,700 others wounded since May 10, according to Palestinian authorities.

A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian resistance group, started early Friday.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed the entire city in 1980 – a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan from Istanbul.