Mon 10 May 2021:
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh separately over the phone.
More than 300 people were reported wounded in clashes Monday between Palestinians and Israeli police at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound.
The clashes are the latest in days of the worst such disturbances since 2017 and came ahead of a planned march to mark Israel’s 1967 takeover of the holy city.
Erdogan said he strongly condemns the attacks which hurt the consciousness of all humanity, not just Muslims, and the persecution of Palestinians.
He said Turkey will do everything in its power to mobilize the whole world, especially the Islamic world, to stop Israeli terrorism and occupation.
Turkey will continue to support the Palestinian cause, stand with its Palestinian brothers and protect the honor of Jerusalem, he added.
Relations between Israel and Turkey have been strained since a Turkish NGO oversaw a flotilla of ships that tried to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip in 2010.
Hundreds of people demonstrated in support of Palestinians on Sunday evening outside Israel’s consulate in Istanbul.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the “Temple Mount,” claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move never recognized by the international community.
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