Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, April 19, during a phone call with his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog, warned of threats he says weigh on the status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
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Since Friday, Israeli security forces have injured more than 170 people, mostly Palestinians, inside and near the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, in Israel’s annexed Old City of Jerusalem. The incident comes nearly a year after similar tensions sparked an 11-day clash between Israel and armed groups in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
Israel launched its first airstrike on the Gaza Strip in months early Tuesday morning in response to rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave. President Erdogan stated on his Twitter account that he had told Isaac Herzog that “the fact that the Al-Aqsa Mosque was attacked by fanatical groups yesterday and the day before after morning prayers (…) and the tensions in Gaza are our sadness.” have increased”. . “In this delicate period, I would like to emphasize once again that it is necessary not to allow provocations and threats against the status and spirituality of Al-Aqsa Mosque,” added the Turkish President.
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Israel and Turkey have ushered in a new era in their relations after more than a decade of diplomatic division following Isaac Herzog’s historic visit to Ankara in March. President Erdogan, a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, has in the past criticized Israeli policy towards the Palestinians. Turkey has close ties with Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007.
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