ISTANBUL, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Israel's closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem during the Eid al-Fitr holiday has raised concern across the world.
Speaking at an Eid gathering in the Black Sea province of Rize, Erdogan said Israel had used the conflict with Iran as a pretext to restrict access to the site, one of Islam's holiest. Israeli authorities have barred Eid prayers there, citing security measures linked to the ongoing tensions.
Erdogan said Israel's actions risk further destabilizing the region, pointing to the fallout from tensions with Iran since Feb. 28, as well as the war in Gaza and settlement activity. He also said Israeli strikes in Lebanon since early March had killed about 1,000 people and displaced more than one million.
Erdogan added that avoiding the spread of conflict remains a top priority.
Since the start of the conflict, three missiles fired from Iran toward Türkiye have been intercepted by NATO air defense systems, according to Turkish officials. NATO has also deployed additional Patriot air defense batteries to the southern provinces of Malatya and Adana, they said. ■
