By Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - The Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman on Thursday slammed Israeli soldiers who performed Jewish rituals inside a mosque in the West Bank city of Jenin.
"We strongly condemn the provocations of Israeli soldiers who stormed the Jenin Refugee Camp, and disrespected sanctity of a place of worship by entering the mosque," Oncu Keceli said on X.
"In East Jerusalem and the West Bank, where tensions are running extremely high due to settler terror and heavy pressure and attacks by Israeli security forces against Palestinians, we expect attacks on Muslim holy places to be ended immediately and those who perpetrate these provocations to be punished in the most severe way."
The region needs more peace, not more violence, Keceli added.
His remarks came after Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir shared a video of soldiers performing Jewish rituals inside a mosque in Jenin.
It showed an Israeli soldier reciting the Shema Yisrael prayer on the mosque’s loudspeaker. Another soldier is heard saying soldiers are inside a mosque in Jenin.