Turkish top diplomat pays visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Wednesday visited Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem. He also visited the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf and met with its Director Azzam al-Khatib. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is managed by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf-a religious trust affiliated with the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf Islamic Affairs and Holy Places. According to diplomatic sources, during his meeting with al-Khatib, Çavuşoğlu said: 'Al-Aqsa Mosque is in the prayers of the Turkish nation. We have openly expressed Turkey's sensitivity toward Jerusalem and Masjid al-Aqsa to the Israeli side.' After meeting with the Waqf authorities, he also visited the Dome of the Rock. Earlier in the day, Çavuşoğlu visited the Holocaust Remembrance Museum 'Yad Vashem' in West Jerusalem and laid a wreath in the museum hall. Çavuşoğlu also met his Israeli counterpart in West Jerusalem. The two emphasized the importance of durable bilateral relations and cooperation in a joint press conference. His engagements in West Jerusalem were followed by a visit to Palestine on Tuesday, where he met President Mahmoud Abbas and Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki in the West Bank city of Ramallah. In March, Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Ankara and met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.