Ahmet Davutoglu invited to Israel

Peter Lyukimson, Israel. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza

Israel had an ambiguous approach to a speech by the Foreign Ministry of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu at a conference of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in Ankara.

The diplomatic circles of Israel noted that the Foreign Minister tried to make his speech balanced. For example, he pointed out that “Jerusalem, the sacred city for all three Abramic religions (Hebrew, Islam, and Christianity), is culturally important. No single nation has the right to claim it for its heritage individually. The heritage must be protected.”

Considering the fact that many political and religious activists of the Islamic world usually state in their speeches that modern Jews have nothing in common with Jerusalem and the Holy Land, the speech by Davutoglu can be considered as an example of tolerance and reasonability. As he is an intelligent educated person, he didn’t deny historical facts. At the same time, his speech confirmed that Turkey and Israel are close to signing the agreement on normalization of relations.

However, Israeli diplomats and politicians were indignant that Davutoglu stated that Israel tried to deprive the sacred city of Muslim culture and turn it into “a center of a single religion and a single culture.”

“Jerusalem is in hearts of Christians and Muslims. It is impossible to reach peace without a settlement of the Al-Aksa problem, without recognition of Jerusalem’s role in Islamic civilization,” the Turkish Foreign Minister said at the conference.

“It should be noted,” a top official of the Israeli Foreign Ministry told Vestnik Kavkaza, “that Davutoglu is not alone. Many people in the world believe Palestine’s statements that Israel “is destroying Islamic heritage in Jerusalem.” So I invite Mr. Foreign Minister to Jerusalem so he can see that we respect Jewish, Christian, and Islamic shrines and historic monuments. There are some days when there is no access to Temple Mount for Muslims, when extremists commit outrages there. But on most of days of the year any Muslim can come to pray there. At the same time, we follow our commitments and forbid Jews from praying on the Mount, even though it is the most sacred place for any Jew. Many people think the situation is not normal, but I repeat that we do this to reach peace between our nations.”

Of course, the invitation is symbolic, but if Davutoglu decides to visit Israel he will be welcomed warmly. At the moment, Israel is preparing for a visit by the former foreign minister, Yashar Ikish.