1,000 Turkish flags to be shipped to Jerusalem

By Halis Akyildiz

ISTANBUL

An Istanbul-based flag producer on Tuesday said it would send 1,000 Turkish flags to Jerusalem as a sign of support for protests against the recent U.S. decision to recognize the holy city as the capital of Israel.

"Since the Israeli soldiers forbade the entry of Turkish flags into [Jerusalem's] Al-Aqsa Mosque, we are sending Turkish flags to our brothers in Jerusalem in response," Ahmet Cilkaya, chief executive officer of Asya Bayrak told Anadolu Agency.

Cilkaya said that a box containing both Turkish and Palestinian flags would be shipped to Jerusalem within one week. "Our Palestinian brothers will make us proud when they wave the flags there," he added.

Calling Jerusalem an "indispensable place" for Muslims, he said Turkey had been providing "moral and material support" to Palestinians for years, and would continue to do so.

Tension has been high in the Palestinian territories since U.S. President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital earlier this month, triggering protests across the Arab and Muslim world as well as worldwide condemnations.

Since then, 11 Palestinians have been martyred and over 3,000 injured during several protests in West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.