Saudi King Salman meets with Turkish PM in Riyadh

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim discussed the latest regional developments and bilateral ties, during their meeting at the Yamama Palace in Riyadh.

The talks were attended by Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh Region, Minister of State and Member of the Council of Ministers Dr. Musaed al-Aiban, Minister of Commerce and Investment Dr. Majed al-Qasabi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Nizar Obaid Madani, Saudi Ambassador to Turkey Engineer Walid al-Khuraiji and the Chief of General Intelligence Khalid al-Humaidan.

On the Turkish side, the talks were attended by the delegation accompanying the Prime Minister. The Turkish Prime Minister arrived in the Saudi capital on Wednesday and was received at King Salmon Airbase Airport by Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh Region, and other officials.

In a related matter, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met on Wednesday in Riyadh with Yildirim.The meeting witnessed opportunities to enhance bilateral ties, and a discussion of the latest developments in the region.

On the other hand, Tens of thousands of Palestinians including hundreds of gunmen rallied in Gaza on Thursday to mark the 30th anniversary of Hamas’s founding and its chief vowed to reverse U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Earlier in the day, Israel shut its border crossings with Gaza in response to daily rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled enclave since Trump’s announcement on Dec. 6, which stirred anger across the Arab and Muslim world and concern among Washington’s European allies as well as Russia.

“We will knock down Trump’s decision. No superpower is capable of offering Jerusalem to Israel, there is no Israel that it should have a capital named Jerusalem. Our souls, our blood, our sons and our homes are a sacrifice for Jerusalem,” Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told the rally in Gaza City.

With gunmen from other Palestinian militant groups showing support for Hamas, Haniyeh added, “We are marching towards Jerusalem, sacrificing millions of martyrs along the way,” and the crowd repeated his chants.

Israeli aircraft struck three Hamas facilities before dawn after the latest rocket salvo, Israel’s military said. It said it targeted training camps and weapons storage compounds. Hamas usually evacuates such facilities when border tensions rise.

Two of the rockets fired by militants were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system and a third exploded in an open area of southern Israel. There were no reports of casualties on either side of the frontier.

The military said in a statement that “due to the security events and in accordance with security assessments”, Kerem Shalom crossing - the main passage point for goods entering Gaza - and the Erez pedestrian crossing would be shut as of Thursday. It did not say how long the closure would last.