Jordan protesters unite to demand Israeli envoy’s ouster: Erdogan to mobilise world to stop Israeli terror

Istanbul: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Monday to mobilise the world to stop Israeli "terror", in phone calls placed to Palestinian leaders during a surge in violence in occupied al-Quds.

More than 300 people were reported wounded in clashes on Monday between Palestinians and Israeli police at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. The clashes are the latest in days of the worst such disturbances since 2017 and came ahead of a planned march to mark Israel’s 1967 takeover of the holy city.

Erdogan placed separate calls to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to denounce Israel’s actions and extend support. The Turkish leader pledged "He will do everything in his power to mobilise the world, starting with the Islamic world, to stop Israel’s terror and occupation," his office said.

Erdogan, who has long cast himself as the champion of the Palestinian cause, had on Saturday branded Israel a "cruel terrorist state". Relations between Israel and Turkey have been strained since a Turkish NGO oversaw a flotilla of ships that tried to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip in 2010. Hundreds of people demonstrated in support of Palestinians on Sunday evening outside Israel’s consulate in Istanbul. The Turkish police did not intervene despite a ban on large public gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic. Erdogan’s sharp criticism contrasts with months of speculation that Turkey and Israel were looking for ways to normalise ties and re-appoint ambassadors to each other’s capitals. Turkey is seeking to mend fences with its rivals in the Middle East, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia -- a drive that gained momentum after Joe Biden became US president.

Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian demonstrators held angry protests on Monday in Amman demanding an end to Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel, following clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in occupied al-Quds. A crowd of over 1,500 people including both Islamist party supporters and leftist activists demanded the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador.

The protesters were kept back from the embassy and behind a security cordon. They carried banners reading: "No embassy, no ambassador" and "what was taken by force can only be returned by force". Jordan’s 1994 treaty with the Jewish state was "not peace, it’s capitulation", they chanted.