ANKARA, JUN 7: “O Lord, grant me the governorship of Jerusalem,” Turkey’s Interior Minister, Mustafa Ciftci, prayed during his period as governor of Corum and Erzurum, he proudly announced at a speech delivered to the AK Party Corum Provincial Advisory Council meeting on Saturday.

Referring to the fall of the Assad regime, the interior minister said he hoped he would see Jerusalem “liberated” in the same way Damascus was, and that one day “those lands will be ours once again.”

The Assad regime fell in December 2024 after former Islamist insurgent Ahmed al-Sharaa seized control of Syria. Since then, the country has been plagued by sectarian violence.

President Sharaa has nevertheless been widely embraced by Western governments, many of which have moved quickly to lift sanctions on Damascus.

Interior Minister lauds Erdogan’s leadership
“God willing, they will come under our sovereignty and dominion once more. Because we have a global leader like Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at our helm. A world leader,” Ciftci said.

The Ottoman Empire controlled Israel for more than 400 years, ending when it lost to the Allied forces in World War I. In 1918, its leadership signed the Armistice of Mudros, surrendering to Britain.