West Bank

Turkey on April 16 called on Israel to cease its aggressive policies against Palestinians.

A statement by the Foreign Ministry said that such policies damage peace and stability in the region, adding: "It is worrying that Israel's policies of oppression and violence against the Palestinians escalated during Ramadan."

Christians in the Holy Land are marking Good Friday this year amid signs the coronavirus crisis is winding down, with religious sites open to limited numbers of faithful but none of the mass pilgrimages usually seen in the Holy Week leading up to Easter.

Israelis began voting on Tuesday in a fourth election in two years, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hoping a world-beating COVID-19 vaccine rollout will win him another term.

With coronavirus precautions at polling booths across the country - and ballots at the airport for quarantined Israelis coming home to vote - opinion polls show the race yet again too close to call.

Israel's recent evacuation, destruction and confiscation decisions against Palestinians violate international law, according to a statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on March 19. 

The International Criminal Court prosecutor said on Wednesday her office will formally investigate war crimes in the Palestinian Territories, a move welcomed by the Palestinian Authority and denounced by Israel.

The decision follows a ruling by the court on Feb. 5 that it has jurisdiction in the case, prompting swift rejections by Washington and Jerusalem.

Turkey on Jan. 12 expressed concern over Israel's plans to build new illegal settlements in Palestine's occupied West Bank.

"The move is the latest example of the illegitimate practices of Israel that it accelerated before the new administration takes office in the US," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement.

Thousands of pilgrims usually flock to Bethlehem in the West Bank for the celebrations but due to the coronavirus pandemic this year is different

This Christmas was celebrated differently in the Biblical birthplace of Jesus.

There will be no foreign tourists and  pilgrims due to a coronavirus travel ban on foreign nationals.

Turkey is doing all it can to raise the Palestinian cause at all platforms to end "occupation, oppression and genocide policies", President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Nov. 29. 

Turkey's ruling party on Aug. 15 criticized the deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel to normalize ties as a "political suicide" against the Palestinian cause.

It is also an attempt to eradicate a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine proposed by the international community, Ömer Çelik, spokesman for the AKP said on Twitter.