A small group of Israelis waving the Greek flag, also burned a Turkish flag in front of Turkey's Consulate in Jerusalem on Monday.
The nine Israelis, going by the name of the Jerusalem Initiative, were protesting Turkey's provocative move to turn the Byzantine-built Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
The Jerusalem Initiative is made up of Christians and Jews and includes at least one person from the Israeli army, the group’s head Elias Zarina said.
Zarina, speaking to Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency also called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to support and protect Christians around the world.
The small group not only waved Greek and Byzantine Empire flags and hung banners with anti-Turkish slogans outside the consulate, but also burned a Turkish flag, prompting the police to arrest the person.
The Palestinian terrorist organisation Hamas congratulated Turkey for its decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque, Greek City Times reported.
“Opening of Hagia Sophia to prayer is a proud moment for all Muslims,” said Rafat Murra, head of international press office of Hamas, in a written statement.
He then went onto say that the conversion created “sadness” for some in the Arab world.
“We have never seen them worry about Masjid al-Aqsa. We have not seen them get sad when the Zionists attack the Dome of the Rock. When the occupiers’ banned call to prayer in Al-Halil Masjid or Palestinian masjid. They did not care,” he said, without realizing the irony that his complaints of what Israel is doing is what Turkey has done.
Hamas, which was elected to hold 74 of the 132 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council, is an affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood and blindly follows orders from Turkey.
Although Syria was the only Arab ally of Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist organization broke relations with Damascus by backing and training terrorist organizations fighting against the Syrian Army.
Even though Greece has traditionally been the most friendly European country to Palestine, the rapid growth in radical Islam as seen with the immense popularity of Hamas, has seen many Greeks question their support for the Palestinians as their elected representatives pursue contradictory policies that antagonise Greece.