Politics
Türkiye condemns Israeli attempts to alter Ibrahimi Mosque status
Türkiye on Thursday strongly condemned Israel’s reported attempts to change the historical and legal status of Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, calling it a violation of international law and an assault on Palestinian rights and human values.
“We reject Israel’s attempts to alter the status of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron and to usurp the authority of the Palestinian people,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry urged relevant United Nations agencies, particularly UNESCO, along with the broader international community, to take concrete steps to stop what it described as Israel’s illegal and provocative actions.
Ibrahimi Mosque, also known as the Cave of the Patriarchs, is one of the most sacred sites for Muslims and has been a flashpoint in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories for decades.
Türkiye emphasized that any unilateral moves by Israel to change the character or administrative authority of the site would further inflame tensions in the region and undermine efforts for peace and coexistence.
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chair Zafer Sırakaya also reacted strongly to the move, declaring that the Harma al-Ibrahim Mosque is a “shared heritage not only of Palestinians but of the entire Islamic world.”
In a statement shared on social media, Sırakaya stated that Türkiye “strongly condemns the steps taken by Israel’s war cabinet against the Haram al-Ibrahim Mosque,” underscoring the deep concern these actions have provoked.
Sırakaya emphasized that such practices constitute a clear violation of international law, particularly in light of the obligation to preserve the status of holy sites located within the occupied Palestinian territories as defined by the 1967 borders.
“Unilateral attempts to change the status of this holy site clearly contradict the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Convention, and the relevant resolutions of the U.N. Security Council. The international community, particularly responsible actors at the United Nations and UNESCO, must take an active and resolute stance against such steps by Israel,” Sırakaya said.
He further warned that any effort to impose a de facto situation on the ground that undermines the vision of a two-state solution and endangers peace in the region must be abandoned immediately.
Türkiye and the AK Party, he said, will continue to stand firmly with the Palestinian people and, as defenders of international law, will undertake all necessary diplomatic efforts to preserve the historical and religious status of the Haram al-Ibrahim Mosque and prevent further violations of the sanctity of holy sites.
Twenty-three suspects, who were detained in an operation targeting the current financial structure of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) across nine provinces, were referred to the courthouse on Friday.
The procedures of the 26 suspects detained as part of the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into the current financial structure of FETÖ have been completed at a police station. Twenty-three of the suspects, among whom is Zeki Doruk, the owner of major Turkish retail chains HAKMAR and TATBAK, were referred to the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan. The remaining three suspects were released following their procedures at the police station.
Doruk left his entire fortune to FETÖ, according to a handwritten will discovered in his home during a joint anti-terror operation, authorities said a day earlier.
Doruk was among several suspects detained in a coordinated operation carried out on July 15 across nine provinces by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Istanbul Financial Crimes Department, targeting FETÖ’s current financial network.
During a search of his residence, law enforcement discovered a locked safe containing large quantities of gold and jewelry, as well as a personal will and a religious invocation. The will, written in Doruk’s own handwriting, stated that he was bequeathing all his assets – including HAKMAR and TATBAK – to FETÖ, and instructed that the zakat (charitable giving) from his businesses be directed to the group under the guise of “the Hizmet movement.”
Authorities also found a so-called “talisman prayer,” believed to have been written by FETÖ’s deceased ringleader Fetullah Gülen himself and distributed to select members of the group’s secretive inner circle. Doruk had reportedly kept the prayer along with his will in the safe, telling associates, “It was Gülen who elevated me, my fortune is his.”
When first detained, Doruk deliberately gave the wrong combination to HAKMAR’s corporate safe to prevent access, officials said.
A court-appointed trustee has now been assigned to manage the affairs of both HAKMAR and TATBAK, as well as an additional 19 companies owned by Doruk that were found to have funneled finances to FETÖ’s domestic and international networks.
Authorities say the businessman was regularly transferring funds to FETÖ operatives in Türkiye under the instructions of the group’s overseas leadership.
Doruk’s 22 companies now under trustee control include firms operating in agriculture, education, food, retail and construction.
FETÖ is behind the defeated coup attempt, in which 252 people were killed and 2,734 were wounded, was plotted and carried out by FETÖ.
Along with the 2016 coup attempt, FETÖ is also accused of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
Türkiye has targeted the terrorist group’s active members and sleeper cells nonstop, and its influence has been much reduced since 2016. However, the group maintains a vast network, including infiltrators suspected of still operating within Turkish institutions.
FETÖ backers in army ranks and civil institutions have disguised their loyalty, as operations and investigations have indicated since the 2016 coup attempt. FETÖ is implicated in a string of cases related to its alleged plots to imprison its critics, money laundering, fraud and forgery.
The terrorist group faces operations almost daily as investigators still try to unravel its massive network of infiltrators everywhere. In 2024 alone, police apprehended hundreds of FETÖ suspects across the country, including fugitives on western borders trying to flee to Europe.
270 arrested in Izmir
Meanwhile, another 270 suspects with links to FETÖ’s financial structure were arrested in operations centered in Izmir.
Under the coordination of Necati Kayaközü, a deputy chief prosecutor responsible for the Terrorism and Organized Crimes and Organized Crimes Bureaus of the Izmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, teams from the Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence Branches of the Provincial Police Department are continuing their efforts to expose FETÖ’s activities related to “Violating Law No. 6415 on the Prevention of the Financing of Terrorism.”
Police squads launched simultaneous operations in 60 provinces, centered in Izmir, on Tuesday morning.
The investigation has identified 78 suspects abroad, and efforts are ongoing to apprehend 23 suspects.
Türkiye on Thursday expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives caused by heavy rains and flash floods in Pakistan’s Punjab province, extending heartfelt condolences to the people and government of the country.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of lives due to heavy rains and floods in Punjab province of Pakistan,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry conveyed Türkiye’s solidarity with its “brotherly” nation, saying, “We wish Allah’s mercy upon those who lost their lives and extend our condolences to the people of Pakistan.”
Monsoon rains have triggered severe flooding in parts of Punjab in recent days, leading to dozens of fatalities and widespread damage. Emergency efforts are underway as authorities continue rescue and relief operations.
Türkiye and Pakistan enjoy favorable relations. The High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) is the primary platform at the leadership level, which has been instrumental in further cementing bilateral relations.
Ankara and Islamabad have also strengthened bilateral defense and security cooperation in recent years.
Over 150 Daesh suspects have been arrested in counterterrorism operations across 28 provinces in Türkiye, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Friday.
Yerlikaya wrote on social media that the operations were carried out in Adana, Antalya, Aydın, Bursa, Çankırı, Çorum, Eskişehir, Gaziantep, Hatay, İstanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaraş, Kastamonu, Kırşehir, Kocaeli, Kütahya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Muğla, Nevşehir, Osmaniye, Sakarya, Samsun, Şanlıurfa, Tekirdağ, Yalova and Zonguldak provinces.
“In operations conducted by our gendarmerie against the Daesh terrorist organization in 28 provinces over the past two weeks, 153 suspected terrorists were apprehended. The operations determined that the suspects were terrorist members, had ties to the terrorist organization, financed aid payments and engaged in terrorist propaganda through their social media accounts,” he said.
Yerlikaya pointed out that the fight against terrorism is not limited only to security forces on the ground but is led with a complex structure including security, intelligence, communication and international cooperation.
Daesh remains the second biggest threat of terrorism for Türkiye, which faces security risks from multiple terrorist groups and was one of the first countries to declare it a terrorist group in 2013.
In December last year, Turkish security forces detained 32 suspects over alleged links with Daesh who were planning attacks on churches and synagogues as well as the Iraqi Embassy.
Terrorists from Daesh and other groups, such as the PKK and its Syrian wing, the YPG, rely on a network of members and supporters in Türkiye.
Turkish authorities have ordered the freezing of millions of lira worth of assets since 2013 to crack down on terrorism financiers in line with United Nations sanctions.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Türkiye-Russia bilateral ties and regional developments, the Presidential Communications Directorate said Thursday.
In a statement following the call, Erdoğan stressed the significance of resuming a third round of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv and offered to continue hosting future negotiations in Istanbul if both sides agree on suitable dates.
Erdoğan also expressed concern over recent clashes in Syria’s southern Suwayda province after the withdrawal of regime forces, warning that the violence threatens regional stability.
He underscored the importance of respecting Syria’s sovereignty and said Israel must refrain from further violations.
The president also reiterated Türkiye’s commitment to supporting peace and stability in Syria, emphasizing that Ankara aims to help the war-torn country get back on its feet as soon as possible.
For his part, Putin also expressed deep concern over the clashes in Syria’s Suwayda, the Kremlin said in a statement.
Turkish officials are starting to map out the first steps in the dissolution of the PKK after the terrorist group began disarming to end its four-decadelong terror campaign last week.
Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş on Friday received the representatives of political parties, including ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), its ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which oversaw the talks with the PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan.
“Kurtulmuş and the deputy coordinators of the political parties discussed the working method and process of the commission that will be established and hold its first meeting in the coming days for the terror-free Türkiye initiative,” a statement from the Parliament said.
The party representatives conveyed their views on the process.
The Good Party (IP) will not be providing members to the commission or participating in its work, Deputy Chair Buğra Kavuncu told Kurtulmuş, according to the statement.
Kurtulmuş stressed the key responsibilities Parliament will take on for the construction of a terror-free Türkiye, during which it’s vital that all parties demonstrate a united approach, the statement said.
The terror-free Türkiye initiative was launched last year by MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli, who called on Öcalan to appeal to the PKK to lay down arms.
Soon, his call evolved into a new initiative that saw DEM Party lawmakers visiting Öcalan in the island prison where he is incarcerated in the Marmara Sea. As a result and in a landmark development, the PKK in May announced its dissolution and the end of its four-decade terror campaign that cost tens of thousands of lives in Türkiye, as well as in Iraq and Syria.
Most recently, in a ceremony across the border in Iraq last week, PKK members destroyed their weapons as part of a peace process.
“Yesterday, the 47-year-old scourge of terror has, God willing, entered the process of ending,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said upon the developments. “Today is a new day; the doors of a great, powerful Türkiye have been flung wide open.”
The Turkish president promised tight oversight of the PKK disarmament process and warned Ankara would respond firmly in case the process fails.
Türkiye has detained 15 more suspects linked to alleged corruption at Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), authorities said Friday.
The detentions are part of an ongoing investigation by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul into alleged bribery, tender rigging and fraud at the IBB, run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Authorities issued search warrants for 18 people in total in connection with the investigation.
The suspects, charged with bribery and tender rigging, include deputy managers, representatives and purchasing personnel of several construction companies
Police said the search continues for the other three suspects.
Dozens of suspects, including Istanbul’s former mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, have been arrested on charges of “leading a criminal organization,” “membership in a criminal organization,” “extortion,” “bribery,” “aggravated fraud,” “unlawful acquisition of personal data” and “tender rigging” since March.
A barrage of investigations focusing on CHP-run municipalities across Türkiye netted mayors and municipal bureaucrats accused of taking bribes in exchange for building permits, rigging tenders and other forms of corruption involving municipal businesses.
The CHP, which runs Istanbul and more than half of its districts, claims the charges are politically motivated, while authorities highlight that the judiciary is independent of any political influence and point out that some investigations were launched upon complaints by CHP members themselves against mayors and municipal officials.
Although several mayors before him were detained or arrested in corruption probes, the arrest of Imamoğlu in March for alleged corruption triggered protests by the CHP.
CHP Chair Özgür Özel led the protests that occasionally descended into all-out riots. Recently, Özel openly threatened an uprising against the democratically elected government if the corruption investigations continue, prompting outcry from CHP critics who accused him of attempting to instigate a coup.
Imamoğlu, who is declared a future presidential candidate by the CHP after his arrest, faces a spate of accusations alongside corruption charges, including forging his university diploma, and insulting and threatening prosecutors who investigated him.
The former mayor was sentenced to 20 months in prison last week for threatening Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor Akin Gürlek, barely dodging a political ban.
Özel is similarly under investigation for making threats against public and judicial officials due to their duties.
Firari FETÖ’cü Yüksel Evsen continues to the merchant of Umut: “Migration to Germany” is deceiving citizens with the promise!
LAST MINUTE… Mansur Yavaş Municipalism remained in the classroom in Ankara! Flooded Keçiören: Vehicles got caught in the water, the wall of a house was destroyed!
‘Devil Corridor’s Target Türkiye – Breaking News
Firari FETÖ’cü Yüksel Evsen continues to the merchant of Umut: “Migration to Germany” is deceiving citizens with the promise!
LAST MINUTE… Mansur Yavaş Municipalism remained in the classroom in Ankara! Flooded Keçiören: Vehicles got caught in the water, the wall of a house was destroyed!
‘Devil Corridor’s Target Türkiye – Breaking News
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