Turkish minister visits Arafat tomb in Ramallah

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Turkish Minister of Youth and Sport Osman Askin Bak on Tuesday laid a wreath of flowers on the tomb of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

He also toured the “Martyr Yasser Arafat” museum in the muqata, his Ramallah headquarters, accompanied by Hasan Turan, chairman of the Turkey-Palestine friendship group in the Turkish parliament and Turkish consul general Gurcan Turkoglu.

The Turkish minister arrived in the city earlier Tuesday to take part in a youth conference on the city of Jerusalem.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and a host of figures from several Arab and Islamic countries, including Turkey, are expected to participate in the event.

Jerusalem has dominated world attention in recent weeks when U.S. President Donald Trump officially recognized the holy city as the capital of Israel on Dec. 6, triggering outcry in the Arab and Muslim world.

Last year in Istanbul, Jerusalem was declared as the capital of Islamic Youth in 2018.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Middle East conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- might eventually serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Turkish Minister of Youth and Sport Osman Askin Bak on Tuesday laid a wreath of flowers on the tomb of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The Turkish minister arrived in the city earlier Tuesday to take part in a youth conference on the city of Jerusalem.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and a host of figures from several Arab and Islamic countries, including Turkey, are expected to participate in the event.

Last year in Istanbul, Jerusalem was declared as the capital of Islamic Youth in 2018.