Turkey demands end to Israel's heinous and cruel attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque

Turkey on Monday called Israel an "apartheid state" that must end "heinous and cruel attacks" against Palestinians, as clashes raged at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said hundreds had been wounded during the al-Aqsa protest on Monday that came ahead of a planned march marking Israel's 1967 takeover of the holy city.

"To the Islamic world, we say: It's time to stop Israel's heinous and cruel attacks!" Turkey's Communication Director Fahrettin Altun wrote on Twitter.

"To humanity, we say: It's time to put this apartheid state in its place!"

Erdoğan himself had on Saturday called Israel a "cruel terrorist state" that was attacking Palestinians "in a savage manner devoid of ethics".

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also took to Twitter to lambast Israeli violence against innocent civilians in Palestine.

"Those who do not speak out against this atrocity should not talk about Middle East Peace Process," Çavuşoğlu said.

He expressed Turkey's solidarity with the Palestinian people, saying it "will continue to be the voice of our Palestinian brothers and sisters and defend their rights!"

Separately, Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kıran on Twitter also called on Israel to lift the blockade at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and end violence against innocent Palestinians.

"International public opinion must urge Israeli state and its extremist groups to stop reckless and irresponsible practices," he said.

RECENT EVENTS IN JERUSALEM

Palestinians in Jerusalem in recent days have protested in solidarity with the residents of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood amid attacks by Israeli police.

The situation escalated after a ruling by the Israeli Central Court in East Jerusalem, which approved a decision to expel seven Palestinian families from their homes in the neighborhood in favor of Israeli settlers at the beginning of this year.

On Monday, at least 215 Palestinians were injured when the Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and attacked Palestinians who were on guard to prevent raids by extremist Jews.

Earlier, extremist Jews called for a raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday to celebrate the anniversary of the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel occupied East Jerusalem, as "Jerusalem Day" according to the Hebrew calendar.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

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