Erdoğan, Herzog discuss escalation due to Israeli raids in Al-Aqsa

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has spoken over the phone with his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, and discussed Israel’s security forces’ raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque, their attack on the Qibla Masjid and their harsh attitude towards people at sacred places, said the Presidential Communications Directorate on April 8.

Erdoğan stressed that the incidents were “wounding the conscience of the entire humanity as well as of Muslims” and that it was impossible for Türkiye to remain silent in the face of the provocations and threats against the status and spirituality of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the statement said.

He told Herzog that the tension, which has also spread to Gaza and Lebanon, should not be allowed to escalate during this sensitive period when Ramadan coincides with Jew’s Passover.

He underlined that radical Jewish groups’ call for raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque was increasing reactions and concerns and that it was important to take necessary measures, especially during the i’tikaf period, which will start on April 11, in order for Muslims to conduct their worship without any problem.

Noting that these incidents, which take place every Ramadan, should not be allowed to become the fate of the region, Erdoğan said that Ankara stands ready to do its part to get to the bottom of the problem and take steps aimed at establishing a just and lasting peace.

Tension erupted last week when Israeli police stormed into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City early April 5, firing stun grenades at Palestinian youths who hurled firecrackers at them in a burst of violence during a sensitive holiday season. Palestinian militants in Gaza responded with rocket fire on southern Israel, prompting repeated Israeli airstrikes.

Türkiye and Israel are through a normalization process after years of tension, mainly due to the Palestinian cause.

Türkiye and Israel had withdrawn their envoys in 2018 after the latter’s security forces killed scores of civilian Palestinians protesting the United States’ decision to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The ties between the two nations have long been suffering in the past decade, first due to the “One Minute” crisis in Davos and later the killing of 10 Turkish men by the Israeli commandos in an incident dubbed the Mavi Marmara crisis.