Turkey calls on Israel to respect holiness of Al-Aqsa

By Humeyra Atilgan Buyukovali

ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkey expects Israel to take steps to reduce tensions which erupted last week, after the Al-Aqsa Mosque was sealed by Israeli forces, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said Monday.

His remarks came in the capital Ankara after he was appointed as the Turkish government's spokesman.

He called on the Israeli government to respect the holiness and historic stature of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Anger has spilled across the West Bank since last week when Israel shut East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, venerated by Muslims and Jews -- who call the site Temple Mount -- following a deadly shootout.

The mosque was reopened after two days, with Israel installing metal detectors and cameras at its gates.

Three Palestinians were killed on Friday in protests against the Israeli measures around the holy site. Three Jewish Israelis were also killed in an attack in a settlement in the West Bank.

Israel refused to remove the detectors, claiming the security measures were similar to procedures taken at other holy sites around the world.

The city of Jerusalem is sacred to members of all three Abrahamic faiths -- Muslims, Jews and Christians -- and the Al-Aqsa Mosque represents the Islamic world's third-holiest site.

Bozdag rejected media claims that the government had requested information on a number of German firms operating in Turkey as part of its anti-terrorism investigations.

Earlier on Monday, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu made a phone call to his German counterpart Thomas de Maiziere, to confirm that no German firms were being probed by Turkish investigators over suspicions of supporting terrorist groups.

Bozdag added that he could not confirm if Adil Oksuz, a top member of Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) wanted for the failed coup last July, was spotted in Germany, adding that the Justice Ministry was looking into the matter.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen plotted the coup attempt, which martyred 250 people and injured nearly 2,200 others.

FETO is also accused of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.