‘This is our city’: Netanyahu targets Erdoğan during ancient road reopening in Jerusalem

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly addressed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during a ceremony in Jerusalem yesterday, declaring “this is our city” as he inaugurated the Pilgrimage Road in the City of David, which was opened after years of excavation.

In his speech during the event, Netanyahu recalled a 1998 meeting with then-Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yılmaz. He recounted that Yılmaz had refused to hand over Israel a Hebrew-inscribed stone tablet found at the site, even in exchange of “all Ottoman artifacts” in Israel’s museums.

According to Netanyahu, Yılmaz told him, “There is a growing Islamist constituency, headed by the then-mayor of İstanbul—you know his name. And there would be an outrage from this section of the Turkish people if we would give Israel a tablet that would show that Jerusalem was a Jewish city 2,700 years ago.”

Erdoğan was the İstanbul mayor at the time.

Netanyahu continued, addressing Erdoğan directly: “Now, 2000 years later, we’ve recovered our city. We’ve recovered our independence. This is our city, Mr. Erdoğan. It’s not your city. It will always be our city. It will not be divided again.”

The Israeli PM went on to once again thank US President Donald Trump for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocating the US embassy to the city back in 2018.

East Jerusalem is regarded as occupied territory under UN Security Council resolutions and virtually all countries keep their diplomatic missions in Tel Aviv.

Yesterday’s ceremony was also attended by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

The ancient road once carried Jewish pilgrims runs about 600 meters, stretching from Pool of Siloam to the foot of the Temple Mount.

Earlier in the day, Erdoğan said Netanyahu “is like an ideological relative of Hitler” in a speech criticizing Israel’s Sep 10 airstikes in Qatar targeting Hamas members.

Response from AKP

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson responded to Netanyahu on social media, calling his remarks “null and void.”

“The words of Netanyahu, head of the genocide network, targeting our president are null and void,” Ömer Çelik wrote, accusing Netanyahu of attempting to claim a shared religious and historical site as personal property.

“Netanyahu’s delusions of treating Jerusalem, a common value of humanity, as his private property amount to enmity against all of humanity’s values,” he wrote.

“These statements represent a new crime of genocide against people and values by a fanatical hostility to humanity,” Çelik added. “Humanity is under threat from this network. The response must come from an alliance of humanity.”

Relations between Turkey and Israel have further deteriorated since the outbreak of the Gaza war in Oct 2023, with Ankara imposing trade sanctions and maritime restrictions against Tel Aviv.

Yesterday, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry classified Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide.” The commission’s findings align with the position of Turkey and several other countries, which have repeatedly condemned the war as genocidal.

(VK)