Turkey's Erdogan: Muslims Must Unite Against Israel

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a telephone call with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, insisted that the "Islamic world should be united against Israel's attacks in Palestine."

The comments came while the two leaders were discussing the incidents at the Al-Aqsa Mosque last weekend and Tuesday night, on the eve of Passover, when Palestinians and police clashed after dozens of Palestinians barricaded themselves in the structure, reports The Jerusalem Post.

The police had received information that some of those barricaded in the compound, which is on the Temple Mount site in Jerusalem's Old City, were planning to attack Jewish visitors on the Mount on Passover Eve, reports The Post.

The Israeli police reportedly used stun grenades and fired rubber bullets at worshippers, who were throwing objects at the police. 

The Hamas terror group, which is closely tied with Turkey, has fired several rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip and bases in Lebanon after the clashes, leading Israel to launch airstrikes in retaliation, reports The Times of Israel.

The Muslim world reacted with outrage after videos of police beating Palestinians inside the mosque surfaced. The Israeli police said that they had come under direct fire. 

Erdogan also said during the call that it would be "beneficial to take initiatives to take initiatives to steer all parties to common sense," according to a report on Twitter from the Turkish government's communications office.  

"Calling for maintaining joint efforts to protect the status of holy sites on international platforms, particularly the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the United Nations, President [Erdogan] said that it is also important to display this unity in the face of the recent acts of burning the mushaf of the Holy Quran in various European cities, especially in front of Turkish Embassies," the Turkish government's report added. 

Erdogan also called on Raisi to "jointly continue efforts in international platforms, especially in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the U.N., to preserve the status of holy places," his office reported. 

He also criticized the U.S. ambassador to Turkey for meeting with the Turkish opposition alliance's presidential candidate with less than two months before the upcoming elections.

• Violence at Jerusalem Mosque Prompts Fears of Wider Fighting
• Israeli Police, Muslim Rioters Clash at Al Aqsa Mosque