Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged that Muslims will never give up their rights over East Jerusalem, vowing continued support for Palestinians facing Israeli aggression.

"We will not allow Jerusalem to be defiled by unholy hands, though I know the resentment of Hitler admirers may never truly fade," Erdogan said at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Turkish Foreign Ministry building in Ankara.

He described Jerusalem as a spiritual centre sacred to Muslims alongside Mecca and Medina, adding that Türkiye would continue to push for an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

"No one can prevent us from standing by the oppressed people of Gaza who are struggling to survive under Israel's brutal attacks," he said.

Erdogan highlighted the city’s history under Muslim rule, saying it became a place of coexistence where the rights of Christians and Jews were respected.

Türkiye’s struggle for Jerusalem to become "a city of peace, security and harmony" would continue without pause, he said.

Criticism of Israel

The president denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and accused Israel of fuelling instability across the region.

"Those who believe they can build a secure future with oppression, and genocide at the cost of innocent children's lives will drown in the blood they have shed," he said.

"Türkiye will stand firm today and tomorrow against those who seek to turn our region into a sea of blood," he added, vowing solidarity with those targeted by what he called Israeli aggression in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Qatar.

Referring to Israel, Erdogan said: "Terror — whether by group or state — is a mental paralysis and the region’s bloody paralysis will be broken."

Erdogan said Ankara is managing multiple crises while protecting its national interests.

He underlined Türkiye’s efforts to foster stability from the Balkans to Central Asia, Africa to Latin America, and Europe to the Asia-Pacific.

"Türkiye believes in a world where not the strong, but the rightful are powerful, and it is working toward making that world a reality," he said.

He listed foreign policy priorities as preserving stability, promoting peace, expanding prosperity and strengthening brotherhood.

Türkiye, he said, supports allies in defence, economic development and the protection of their rights on international platforms.

Erdogan praised the history of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, calling it an institution that has been the "pride of our state for centuries."

He said the new ministry building would symbolise Türkiye’s global stance, designed to be both ecological and aesthetic, and would serve as one of Ankara’s new landmarks.

"The complex will bring together the memory, present and future of Turkish diplomacy under one roof," he said.