Erdogan to UN: Take action against Israel over al-Aqsa
After days of clashes at site, Turkish president says Israeli activities cause for ‘serious indignation’ in Muslim world
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the United Nations to act against Israel’s “breach” of the sanctity of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, a Turkish source said Tuesday night, according to the Turkish Hurriyet news website.
Erdogan told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a phone conversation that Israel’s actions were “unacceptable” and a cause for “serious indignation” in the Muslim world, the source said.
Muslim protesters clashed with police for a third consecutive day on Wednesday morning, after the protesters barricaded a door into the mosque and threw stones and firecrackers at the entrance to the Temple Mount for non-Muslims. Police later removed the barricade, closing the protesters inside the mosque.
Erdogan also demanded world pressure on Israel over the establishment of an Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
According to the source, Ban said the UN was concerned by the recent developments, and strssed the importance of negotiations in reducing tensions, Hurriyet said.
The ongoing clashes at the site — which is holy to both Jews and Muslims — have caused widespread condemnation of Israel in the Arab world. Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Sunday accused the “Zionist enemy” of trying to “seize” the al-Aqsa Mosque, while Jordan’s King Abdullah warned that the clashes could had an adverse effect on his country’s relations with Israel.
The US has condemned “all acts of violence” at the site, expressing “deep concern” Monday, and calling on all sides to “exercise restraint, refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric and preserve unchanged the historic status quo.”
