Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday condemned the Israeli police raid on Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque, which led to clashes with worshippers, calling such acts in the mosque compound a “red line” for Turkey.
“I condemn the vile acts against the first qiblah of Muslims in the name of my country and people, and I call for the attacks to be halted as soon as possible,” Erdogan said in a speech at a fast-breaking dinner.
The incident came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and on the eve of the Jewish Passover, stoking fears of further violence at the mosque compound, a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“The name of this is the politics of repression, the politics of blood, the politics of provocation. Turkey can never remain silent and unmoved in the face of these attacks,” Erdogan said.
“Putting a hand on al-Aqsa mosque and trampling on the sanctity of the Haram al-Sharif is a red line for us.”
(Reuters)
