Turkey declares Jerusalem Youth Capital of 2018

A ceremony was held in Istanbul yesterday to sign a protocol declaring Jerusalem as the Youth Capital of 2018.

The protocol was signed between the head of the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation, Elshad Isgandarov, and the President of the Palestinian Football Association,  Jibril Rajoub.

In the signing ceremony Isgandarov said that the main goal of declaring Jerusalem the Youth Capital of 2018 is to attract the youth from across the world to Jerusalem in order to defend the city’s Muslim sanctities.

Isgandarov explained that Jerusalem was chosen as the youth capital after careful evaluation and that the Israeli violations against the Palestinian people in recent times contributed to choosing Jerusalem over other cities.

Our main objective is to support the Islamic identity of this city, to preserve our holy sites in the city, and raise the level of solidarity among Islamic countries with regards to the Palestinian cause,

he added.

President of the Palestinian Football Association Jibril Rajoub said that the proposed agreements, activities and programmes would target more than 400,000 Jerusalemites, Al-Aqsa Mosque and real estate and land within the Old City in particular by providing all conditions to protect these buildings.

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He added that a special committee of Muslims and Christians living in Jerusalem would be formed to reach out to all OIC countries by visiting Jerusalem, supporting its programmes and standing with its people.

Al-Rajoub stressed that this agreement should have the impact and support that would affirm the Palestinian right to Jerusalem.