Turkey transfers to Palestinians historic land documents
By Arnon Regular and Aluf Benn
Turkey transferred to the Palestinian Authority Ottoman archives documenting land ownership in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, ahead of this week's visit to Israel and the PA by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to Palestinian sources.
The archives, which include about 140,000 pages of documentation from the period between 1500 and 1914, contain significant data about ownership relevant to the present.
The sources say the most important information involves the holy places in East Jerusalem, and will be useful to the PA in future negotiations.
Erdogan made an uneventful visit yesterday to the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where he prayed. Waqf (Muslim Religious Trust) and PA security forces deployed on the Mount, preventing access to activists of Hizb al-Tahrir, an organization whose members attacked the Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Majer there last year.
Erdogan ended his visit yesterday with a meeting with Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who before leaving yesterday for Mauritania, asked Turkey's help in advancing relations between Israel and other Arab and Muslim countries.
Erdogan was received in an official ceremony yesterday afternoon at the Muqata in Ramallah, and later visited the grave of Yasser Arafat.
After Erdogan's meeting with PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, Abbas thanked Erdogan for Turkey's economic and security assistance, and called for Turkey's increased involvement in negotiations with Israel.
"There is agreement between us and Israel on the importance of Turkey's role in the peace process," Abbas said. "Turkey has access to both sides and good intentions, and this role should be expanded."
Erdogan said that following the Sharm el-Sheikh meeting, a new opportunity had been created in the Middle East peace process. He said he has urged Israel to support the PA, and "to give a chance to Abu Mazen so he can take control of the situation and prevent the attacks that Israel is complaining about."
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