Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday asserted before his parliament that the country has a claim to Jerusalem, alluding to the time of the Ottoman Empire's control over the region.
The Ottoman Empire ruled Jerusalem and much of the Middle East from about 1516 to 1917, after World War I.
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"In this city that we had to leave in tears during the First World War, it is still possible to come across traces of the Ottoman resistance. So Jerusalem is our city, a city from us," Erdogan was cited by The Times of Israel as telling Turkish lawmakers in Ankara.
"Our first qibla [direction of prayer in Islam] al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem are the symbolic mosques of our faith. In addition, this city is home to the holy places of Christianity and Judaism."
