The Times of Israel reports: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday urged Muslims to defend the Palestinian cause, striking a tough stance on Israel despite improved ties between the two nations.
“It is the common duty of all Muslims to embrace the Palestinian cause and protect Jerusalem,” the president of the majority country told a parliamentary symposium on Jerusalem in Istanbul.
Safeguarding the Al-Aqsa Mosque should not be left to children armed with nothing but stones, he said, in a likely reference to Palestinian youths who sometimes hurl stones at Israeli security forces on the Temple Mount. The Jerusalem hilltop is the third-most sacred site to Muslims and the holiest to Jews, the location of the two biblical temples.