Israel Rebukes Turkish Interior Minister Over Jerusalem Remarks

By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk

Israel has rebuked Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi after he said Türkiye would one day witness the "liberation" of Jerusalem and spoke of a prayer to serve as the city's governor.

Çiftçi made the remarks on June 6 at an AK Party provincial advisory meeting in Çorum, where he said Türkiye was living through its strongest period in 200 years and linked Jerusalem to a wider historical and political vocabulary used by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling party.

"Just as we witnessed the liberation of Damascus, Aleppo and Karabakh, God willing, one day we will also witness the liberation of Jerusalem," Çiftçi said in remarks carried by Turkish media and quoted by Israeli outlets.

He also referred to a prayer from his years as governor, saying he had asked God to grant him "even for one day" the governorship of Jerusalem. Turkish media quoted him as saying he believed "those places will be ours again" and would again come under Turkish authority.

The comments drew a sharp response from Israel. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the Ottoman Empire was gone and that Jerusalem would remain Israel's capital, while Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz attacked Çiftçi and Erdoğan in a Turkish-language statement on X.

Israeli media framed Çiftçi's remarks as a call to return Jerusalem to Turkish hands, with several outlets presenting the speech through the language of Ottoman restoration and conquest. Bosphorus News is not using that framing as a direct description of the Turkish minister's remarks; the original wording centered on Jerusalem's "liberation," a prayer for governorship and references to former Ottoman lands.

Çiftçi later responded to Katz's remarks, saying Türkiye would not compromise on its position on Palestine and Jerusalem. Daily Sabah quoted him as saying that Türkiye would continue to carry the cause of Jerusalem's freedom in its heart.

The exchange shows how quickly Jerusalem language can move from domestic political symbolism in Türkiye into a diplomatic dispute with Israel. In AK Party politics, Jerusalem is often framed through Palestine solidarity, Ottoman memory and religious responsibility. In Israel, the same vocabulary is read through sovereignty, security and the status of the city.

The row comes as Türkiye-Israel relations remain strained over Gaza, Syria and regional security. Erdoğan has repeatedly accused Israel over its war in Gaza, while Israeli officials have accused Türkiye of using inflammatory rhetoric against Israel.

Çiftçi's remarks were delivered to a Turkish political audience in Çorum, but the Israeli reaction moved them into the bilateral arena. The dispute adds another layer to a relationship already shaped by Gaza, regional military calculations and competing claims over the political meaning of Jerusalem.

***Sources: AK Party, Haber7, Yeni Şafak, Times of Israel.