Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has made two verbal attacks against Israel this week as he attended a meeting in Istanbul to discuss how to protect Jerusalem from Israel.

The Maan news agency quoted the Turkish president saying Erdogan is calling for as many Muslims as possible to visit Har Habayis to protect it from Israel, and ongoing efforts to “Judaize” the holy site. He added there cannot be peace in the region without an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 boundaries, and he calls on the international community to apply pressure on Israel to comply with this demand.

Maan quotes Erdogan adding “Israel keeps escaping punishment, which leads it to escalated aggression against Palestinians”, and he want Jerusalem to be held accountable for “crimes” committed against the Palestinians.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded to President Erdogan with the following statement: “Those who systematically violate human rights in their own country should not preach to the only true democracy in the region. Israel consistently protects total freedom of worship for Jews, Muslims and Christians – and will continue to do so despite the baseless slander launched against it”.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)