Politics
Turkiye will never give Israel coveted ancient stone: Erdogan
Turkiye will never hand over to Israel a coveted Biblical-era ancient inscription that was found in a tunnel beneath Jerusalem during Ottoman times, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.
He was referring to the so-called Siloam or Silwan inscription, a Hebrew tablet dating back 2,700 years, which is currently held in Istanbul’s archaeology museum.
The issue sparked a fresh bout of diplomatic sparring on Monday when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told how his efforts to retrieve the artefact in 1998 were rebuffed— on the grounds that it would “outrage” the Islamist constituency headed by Erdogan, who was Istanbul’s mayor at the time.
Speaking on Friday, Erdogan accused Netanyahu of “spewing hatred” at Turkiye “for not returning the Silwan inscription, a legacy of our ancestors”.
“Jerusalem is the honour, dignity and glory of all humanity and all Muslims… yet he shamelessly continues to pursue the inscription: we won’t give you that inscription, let alone a single pebble from Jerusalem,” he said.
The inscription was discovered in the late 19th century inside the Siloam tunnel, an ancient aqueduct underneath Jerusalem.
The limestone tablet, which describes how the tunnel was built, was found in 1880 when Jerusalem was part of the Ottoman Empire and taken to Constantinople, now Istanbul, where it has remained ever since.
For Israel, the inscription is a key element of historical proof demonstrating Jewish presence in Jerusalem that it has wanted to obtain for years.
Speaking on Monday at the inauguration of a newly-excavated ancient road under Silwan, a densely populated Palestinian neighbourhood in occupied and annexed east Jerusalem, Netanyahu described the inscription as one of Israel’s “most important” archeological discoveries after the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Relating a conversation with then Turkish premier Mesut Yilmaz in 1998, Netanyahu said he had offered him a wealth of Ottoman artefacts.
“I said: we have thousands of Ottoman artefacts in our museums.. Let’s do an exchange. And he said, no, I’m sorry, I can’t. I said: take all the artifacts in our museums. And he said, no, I can’t do that,” the Israeli leader recounted.
‘Turkish PM feared backlash’
He then quoted Yilmaz as saying there was “a growing Islamist constituency headed by Erdogan and it would cause “outrage” if Turkiye
“would give Israel a tablet that would show that Jerusalem was a Jewish city 2,700 years ago”.
“Well, we’re here. This is our city. Mr Erdogan, it’s not your city, it’s our city. It will always be,” Netanyahu said.
He appeared to be referencing remarks by Erdogan in a 2020 speech to lawmakers when he described Jerusalem as “our city, a city from us”, emphasising Turkiye’s historic ties to the city that spent two centuries under the Ottoman Empire.
Erdogan, whose relationship with Israel has nosedived over the Gaza war, hit back on Wednesday, dismissing Netanyahu’s “tantrums” and pledging: “We as Muslims will not step back from our rights over East Jerusalem.”
Jerusalem’s historic Old City houses holy sites revered by Jews, Muslims and Christians.
It is a frequent site of tension and violence, which is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Four US Army special operations soldiers were presumed killed when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed this week during a routine training exercise in a remote area of Washington state near Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the Army said on Friday.
The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk went down at about 9pm PDT on Wednesday in rugged terrain near the base, located about 15 miles southeast of Tacoma, Washington, according to Jacqui Hill, spokesperson for the US Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
No survivors were found among the four personnel who were aboard the aircraft, all members of the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, 4th Battalion, assigned to Lewis-McChord, she said.
Dubbed “Night Stalkers,” this airborne unit is known for its expertise in conducting operations under the cover of darkness and for pioneering the Army’s nighttime flying tactics.
“They were elite warriors who embodied our highest values of the Army and the Army Special Operations, and their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Lieutenant General Jonathan Braga said of the four fallen soldiers in a statement.
Hill said efforts to reach the accident site were complicated by the remote location, fire from the crash and thick vegetation, and that recovery operations were continuing on Friday.
The United States is in discussions with the Taliban about re-establishing a small US military presence at Afghanistan’s Bagram air base as a launch point for counterterrorism operations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people with knowledge of the negotiations.
The Journal, citing a US official, also reported that the talks, headed by Special Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler, include a potential prisoner exchange, a possible economic deal, and a security component.
This is a developig story and is being updated with more details.
Pakistan has extended its airspace ban for all Indian-registered and Indian-operated aircraft, including military planes, for another month, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said on Friday.
According to a new NOTAM (Notice to Airmen), the restriction bars Indian commercial airlines, India-registered aircraft, and military flights from entering Pakistani airspace.
Pakistan closed its airspace for Indian airlines in a tit-for-tat move after New Delhi suspended the critical Indus Water Treaty amid heightened bilateral tensions following the deadly Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
Following Pakistan’s decision, India shut its airspace to Pakistani airlines on April 30. Pakistan’s initial restriction was extended on May 23 for another month.
The latest extension brings the total duration of Pakistan’s airspace closure for Indian aircraft to 210 days.
On May 6-7, India launched unprovoked attacks on multiple Pakistani cities.
In response, Pakistan’s armed forces launched a large-scale retaliatory military action, named “Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos”, and targeted several Indian military targets across multiple regions.
The strikes, described by officials as “precise and proportionate”, were carried out in response to India’s continued aggression across the Line of Control (LoC) and within Pakistan’s territory, which New Delhi claimed were aimed at “terrorist targets”.
Pakistan downed its six fighter jets, including three Rafale, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States.
While India’s aviation industry has faced heavy losses, the impact on Pakistani aviation has been minimal.
This is not the first time Pakistan has imposed such restrictions. Airspace closures were previously enacted during the 1999 Kargil conflict and the 2019 Pulwama crisis, both instances in which India faced greater aviation disruptions than Pakistan.
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