Hundreds of years of Ottoman land and waqf documents for Jerusalem are safeguarded in Turkey's state archives, providing legal proof of ownership, a senior official said Thursday.
Abdullah Ünlü, head of the Archive Department at the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre under the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry, told Anadolu Agency that the archives hold records from 26 countries once under Ottoman rule.
The collection includes 47 land registry defters covering the periods 1562-1597 and 1865-1917, containing around 170,000 entries specific to Jerusalem, along with documents on waqf properties and private holdings.
Ünlü explained that Sultan Selim I conquered Palestine, and the records were first entered into the defters in 1566 during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
He highlighted the Ottoman Empire's strong emphasis on archiving, which has allowed these documents to reach the present day in good condition.
Commenting on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that "Jerusalem is our city," Ünlü described the records as "legal proofs with full validity."
"These documents have been with us for 400 years. I interpret Netanyahu's statements as a sign of helplessness," he added.
The archives are open to international researchers, Ünlü noted, allowing anyone to conduct studies on the materials.The directorate has also compiled the Jerusalem Waqf Defter into a published book for wider access.
