Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog that Türkiye is ready to contribute to the de-escalation of the situation at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, as he said Ankara cannot remain silent amid ongoing provocations, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.
In a phone call held Saturday, Erdogan told Herzong that necessary precautions need to be taken ahead of Muslims' itikaf isolation practice starting April 11.
He stressed that it is impossible for his country to remain silent in the face of provocations and threats to the status quo and spirituality of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
He told Herzog that calls by some radical Jewish groups to storm the compound are worrying.
In the phone call, the president and his Israeli counterpart Herzog discussed the latest raids by Israeli security forces on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as the harsh interventions against those at the holy sites, according to Presidential Communications Directorate.
Saying that the latest incidents wound the conscience of not only Muslims but all of humanity, Erdogan stressed that Türkiye can in no way remain silent in the face of provocations and threats to the status quo and spirituality of Al-Aqsa, located in occupied East Jerusalem.
The tensions spreading to the Gaza Strip and Lebanon should not be allowed to escalate, he urged.
Stressing the need to prevent such incidents, which are repeated every Ramadan, from becoming the fate of the region, Erdogan also voiced Türkiye's readiness to do its part to get to the root of the problem and take steps toward establishing a just and lasting peace.