Erdogan phones Abbas over Israeli violence in Gaza

By Enes Kaplan

LONDON (AA) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas by phone late Monday, according to a presidential source.

The two leaders exchanged views on the relocation of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and Israeli attacks against Palestinians, the source said.

Erdogan condemned the attacks and wished Allah’s mercy to all martyrs.

More than 50 Palestinians were martyred by Israeli army gunfire and thousands more were injured during anti-occupation rallies Monday along the Gaza Strip’s eastern border, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Thousands of Palestinians demonstrated along the Gaza Strip’s eastern border Monday, which coincided with the 70th anniversary of Israel's establishment in 1948 -- an event Palestinians refer to as the "Nakba" or "the Catastrophe".

Since the border rallies began on March 30, more than 90 Palestinian demonstrators have been killed by cross-border Israeli gunfire, according to the Health Ministry.

Last week, the Israeli government said the ongoing border protests constituted a “state of war” in which international humanitarian law did not apply.