Israeli restrictions at Al-Aqsa unacceptable: Erdogan

Israeli restrictions at Al-Aqsa unacceptable: Erdogan

Turkish president calls Palestine's Mahmoud Abbas to express concern over increasing rights violations against Palestinians

By Ilkay Guder

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas discussed on Thursday growing tensions in Jerusalem, following the new Israeli restrictions on Palestinians' entry into Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Erdogan made a phone call to Abbas early Thursday morning, according to sources from the Turkish president’s office.

He expressed his concerns to his Palestinian counterpart over the increasing human rights violations by Israel in Jerusalem.

"Any restriction on Muslims entering Al-Aqsa Mosque is unacceptable," Erdogan said, adding that "the protection of the Islamic character and sanctity of Al-Quds [Jerusalem] and Al-Haram Al-Sharif [Al-Aqsa Mosque complex] is important for the whole Muslim world".

Palestinian news agency WAFA said that during the phone call, Abbas asked Erdogan to request the U.S. to put pressure on Israel, so that it backs down from its latest restriction on Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Israeli authorities closed down the Al-Aqsa compound and cancelled the weekly Friday prayers for the first time in nearly five decades, following a shootout last week that left three Palestinians and two Israeli policemen dead near the flashpoint holy site in East Jerusalem.

On Wednesday, Israeli soldiers wounded nine Palestinians and detained four others during protests against the closure.

Protests began on Sunday after the mosque's leadership called on worshipers to boycott new metal detectors installed at the mosque's entrances.

Israel has defended the move, claiming they are no different from security measures at other holy sites around the world.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the city in 1980, claiming all of Jerusalem as the Jewish state’s "eternal" capital -- a move never recognized by the international community.

Sacred to Muslims, Jews, and Christians, Jerusalem is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which for Muslims represents the world's third-holiest site.

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