Israel denies Turkish singer entry to Jerusalem

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli authorities have denied Turkish singer Gizem Coskun entry into the occupied city of East Jerusalem, Turkey's Yunus Emre Institute said Tuesday.

The female singer was planned to attend a Palestinian cultural ceremony in the city later Tuesday.

"We apologize for cancelling the show due to circumstances out of our hands," the cultural institute said on Twitter.

There was no comment from Israeli authorities on the report.

The event is organized annually by Palestinian artists in an effort to preserve the Palestinian cultural identity and folklore in face of Israeli measures to Judaize the city.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, during the 1967 Middle East War. It formally annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as its capital -- a move never recognized by the international community.

Turkey rejects Israeli measures against Palestinians living in East Jerusalem and recognizes the holy city as the capital of the Palestinian state.

* Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara