Turkey urges Israel to take measures to protect holy places

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey has called on the Israeli government to take the necessary measures to preserve the status quo in the holy places amid rising tensions over a flag march by Israeli settlers in occupied East Jerusalem.

“Staging a raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir and fanatical Jewish groups under the protection of the Israeli police, and the attempts to worship in this area are a clear violation of the status quo in the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Haram Al-Sharif,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“We call on the Israeli government to take the necessary measures to preserve the status quo in the mentioned holy places, and reiterate our call not to allow provocative actions that will escalate tensions in the region,” it added.

Turkey’s call came as thousands of Israeli settlers staged a flag march to mark what they call the day of unifying Jerusalem, in reference to Israel’s occupation of the city in 1967.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.

Clashes surrounding last year’s flag march led to an 11-day Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip during which more than 260 Palestinians were killed and thousands injured. Thirteen Israelis were also killed in Palestinian fire from Gaza during the course of the conflict. The violence, the worst in years, came to a halt under an Egyptian-brokered truce.

Amnesty International recently declared Israel guilty of the crime of apartheid against Palestinians.