Turkey’s Erdogan to Iran’s Raisi: Muslim world must unite against Israel

“I condemn Israel’s vile acts against…Muslims.”

By World Israel News Staff

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi that the “Islamic world should be united against Israel’s attacks in Palestine,” according to his office.

The two leaders also discussed the clashes between Palestinian rioters and Israel Police at the al-Aqsa mosque, in which hundreds of masked youths barricaded themselves inside the Al Aqsa mosque with fireworks, clubs and projectiles.

The clashes lead to further violence from the Hamas terror group. Terrorists in the Gaza Strip launched 44 missiles into Israel overnight Thursday, resulting in retaliatory strikes by the IDF in the Hamas-ruled enclave.

Hamas factions in Lebanon fired 34 rockets into northern Israel earlier on Thursday.

Erdogan called Israel Police’s actions in the mosque a “red line” and emphasized to his Iranian counterpart that “common sense should prevail to prevent a new spiral of violence,” his office said.

“I condemn the vile acts against the first qibla of Muslims in the name of my country and people, and I call for the attacks to be halted as soon as possible,” he said, referring to the fact that Muslims first prayed in the direction of Jerusalem, before switching to Mecca.

Erdogan also called on Raisi to “jointly continue efforts in international platforms, especially in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the UN, to preserve the status of holy places.”

“Erdogan said it is important to demonstrate unity, particularly in the face of recent acts such as the burning of the holy Quran in European cities,” it added.

The alliance between Turkey and Iran as well as Erdogan’s harsh criticism of Israel will likely harm the recently restored ties between Ankara and Jerusalem.

al-Aqsa mosqueEbrahim RaisiIranIsrael-Turkey relationsIsraeli-Palestinian conflictRecep Tayyip ErdoganTemple Mount violenceTurkey