Luke ANKARA, September 9 – Turkish President Erdogan has urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to hold an emergency summit to discuss the Gaza war and Israel’s attack on Jerusalem.
Erdogan, who has been a vocal critic of Israel during its war against the Hamas militant group in Gaza, said over the weekendCalled on Islamic countries to form an alliance to oppose Israeli “expansionism” .
Speaking after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Erdogan said Israel was targeting Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque as part of its “expansionist” campaign. He said Jerusalem and the mosque – known to Jews as the Temple Mount – were Ankara’s “red lines.”
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has 57 member countries and claims to be the collective voice of the Muslim world.
Erdogan said, “It is unimaginable that the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, whose mandate is to deal with the Jerusalem issue, is indifferent to these attacks. The organisation should hold a leadership meeting and not waste time.”
He said Turkey will apply to the International Court of Justice in The Hague over the Israeli killing of Turkish-American woman Esenur Ezgi Egi during protests in the West Bank last week .
“We will take all legal measures to ensure that no trace of his blood remains on the ground,” Erdogan said.
“The Israeli leadership that perpetrated the genocide will certainly be held accountable for the crimes it has committed,” he said.
