Turkey’s interior minister said he wanted to “become the governor of Jerusalem.”

“May Allah grant me the opportunity to become the governor of Jerusalem,” Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said on Saturday at a party event in the central province of Corum.

His remarks reflect prevailing public sentiment in Turkey: Ankara has consistently supported the Palestinians amid Israeli pressure and the occupation of Palestinian lands.

Ciftci, who previously served as governor of one of the provinces, spoke at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), where he praised the achievements Turkey has made under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“We still have a long way to go to achieve ‘Kizil Elma’ (Red Apple),” the minister noted, referring to a concept from Turkish mythology meaning an ultimate cherished goal. “Just as we witnessed the liberation of Damascus, Aleppo, and Karabakh, God willing, we will also see the liberation of Jerusalem.”

The interior minister said that while he was still governor of Erzurum Province (before being appointed interior minister earlier this year), he prayed to Allah “to govern Jerusalem as governor for at least one day.” “I believe that the Almighty will grant us this. I sincerely believe it. In the future, this may become a reality, because we have a global leader,” Ciftci added, referring to Erdogan.

After Ciftci published a video of his speech on his account on the social network X, Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a sharp rebuttal, advising the Turkish minister to “wake up and smell the coffee.”

“The corrupt Ottoman Empire is a thing of the past. Forever,” Israel’s foreign ministry said on X, adding that Jerusalem “will remain Israel’s eternal capital. Forever.”