Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday he had told his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas that he condemned Israeli interventions on Palestinian worshippers at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, vowing to "stand against" attempts to change its status.
Erdogan's comments come amid efforts by Turkey and Israel to normalize relations after years of animosity over a range of issues, namely the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Turkey's support for the Hamas militant group which runs Gaza.