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Muslims should use every opportunity to go to Jerusalem to help protect the Al-Aqsa mosque, which Israeli soldiers are carelessly polluting while easily spilling blood, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

Muslims should support their brothers in faith suffering from Israels actions at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Erdogan told members of the ruling AK Party on Tuesday.

From here I call upon all Muslims. Those who are able to should visit Al-Aqsa Those who cannot visit Al-Aqsa should send aid to our brothers there, Erdogan said in Ankara, as cited by the state-run Anadolu news agency.

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"When Israeli soldiers carelessly pollute the grounds of Al-Aqsa with their combat boots by using simple issues as a pretext and then easily spill blood there, the reason [they are able to do that] is we [Muslims] have not done enough to stake our claim over Jerusalem," Erdogan said.

He added that Turkish authorities are doing their utmost to protect Christian and Jewish places of worship from extremist attacks, saying that Turkey has no issues with them, according to Reuters.

Erdogan also said he had spoken to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and told him that Muslims visiting Al-Aqsa mosque could not be treated as terrorists. "We can also not accept Jews going to synagogues and temples being treated as terrorists," he said.

On Sunday, Erdogan also pressed Tel Aviv to dismantle security fences around the Temple Mount, arguing the Israelis conduct went beyond democratic standards.

He called on Israel to respect "basic human rights values," also condemning it for disregarding all warnings to maintain its position.

Metal detectors and other restrictions must be lifted immediately and the current status quo must be restored, Erdogan insisted.

The Turkish leaders statement followed days of spiraling violence sparked over access to the Al-Aqsa mosque at the compound known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City.

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Earlier in the month, Israeli authorities introduced additional security measures, installing metal detectors and CCTV cameras outside the mosque, causing protests from Palestinian worshippers.

On Friday, three Palestinians were killed during rallies in the city, while Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas froze all contacts with Israel in light of the dispute. The same day three members of a Jewish family were murdered in a stabbing attack at a settlement on the West Bank.

The Arab League issued a statement telling Israel not to test the patience of the Muslim world.

The Israeli government is playing with fire and risking a major crisis with the Arab and Islamic world, secretary general of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said in a statement on Sunday.

The official stressed Jerusalem is a red line that Muslims and Arabs cannot allow to be crossed, adding, what is happening today is an attempt to impose a new reality on the Holy city.

Israeli authorities on Tuesday made a decision to dismantle security installations, replacing them with advanced technological means.

The cabinet accepts the recommendation of security officials to replace the metal detectors with security inspection based on advanced technologies smart inspection and other means to ensure the security of visitors and worshipers in the Old City of Jerusalem, the Israeli government said in a statement quoted by Haaretz.

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Erdogan: Israeli soldiers pollute Al-Aqsa grounds with ...

BRUSSELS (AP) High-level talks that European Union officials had with Turkeys foreign minister Tuesday did not appear to ease tensions between the 28-nation bloc and Ankara over a wave of detentions of human rights defenders, journalists and others.

After the meeting in Brussels, European enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn expressed very strong concern about the detentions, while Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu defended them as a necessary part of his countrys fight against extremism.

Turkey has been mired in a diplomatic row with EU powerhouse and fellow NATO ally Germany following the arrests last week of a group of human rights activists, including a German national, on terror-related charges. Earlier, a German-Turkish journalist was arrested for allegedly spying and aiding Kurdish rebels.

Before the talks in Brussels started, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signaled that the era of Turkey bowing to Western pressure was over.

The West wants Turkey to bring about their demands no questions asked I am sorry to say that Turkey no longer exists, Erdogan told a meeting of his ruling partys legislators.

The meeting in Brussels was formally about Turkeys long-stalled bid for EU membership, the fight against terrorism and energy and trade ties. But they were held in the shadow of the sweeping government crackdown that came in the aftermath of a failed coup last year.

More than 50,000 people, including journalists and opposition lawmakers, have been detained since the July 15, 2016 coup attempt. Critics say the purge initially targeted people suspected of links to the leaders of the failed military takeover, but has expanded to include government opponents.

Human rights, the rule of law, democracy, fundamental freedoms including media freedom are all basic imperative requirements for any progress towards the European Union, Hahn said.

The EU wants to see progress in all these areas, he said.

I would like to stress once again our very strong concern about the imprisonment of a large number of journalists, writers, academics, lawyers and human rights defenders and we expect a due legal procedure in respect of the presumption of innocence, Hahn said.

Cavusoglu, however, defended the arrests of activists and journalists by saying they were detained on suspicion of involvement with extremists.

Turkey applied to join the EU three decades ago, and it started negotiating in 2005. But of the 16 negotiating chapters on issues as varied as capital movement and food safety, only one science and research has been provisionally closed.

Ankaras minister in charge of EU issues, Omer Celik, said Tuesdays discussions were constructive.

Its clear that we have differences, that we have disagreements, but dialogue, discussions and (the) search for settlements will of course continue, Celik added.

Celik called accession negotiations the backbone of EU-Turkey relations and said the best way to discuss differences would be to open accession chapters.

He said the chapters that cover the judiciary, fundamental rights and security should be opened.

Before the meeting, human rights activists urged the EU to use the meeting to press Ankara to release detained rights activists. Amnesty Internationals Turkey director, Idil Eser, and its chair, Taner Kilic, are among those being detained.

Our call is very simple. We want the unconditional and immediate release of these human rights defenders, Amnesty International Secretary General Salil Shetty said.

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Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed to this report.

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President Erdogan ramps up rhetoric ahead of Turkey-EU talks - The Seattle Times

Miami Herald

Turkey, a US ally, muzzles the media Miami Herald Some may think that Erdogan started to silence critical media only after failed coup on July 15, 2016. But this is not true. Like many other journalists, Karaca became target long before the coup attempt as the president declared a war on free media ...

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Turkey, a US ally, muzzles the media - Miami Herald

DOHA (Reuters) - Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan left Qatar on Monday after two days in the Gulf trying to mediate in the worst row among Arab states for years but there was no sign he had made any progress.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic and travel ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of supporting Islamist militants. Doha denies the claims.

Turkey has been Qatar's most powerful ally in the dispute, rushing through legislation to send more troops to its base in Doha as a sign of support.

Kuwaiti and Western efforts to end the crisis have yielded little so far. The four Arab states want Qatar to reduce ties with their arch-foe Iran, close down the Turkish military base and shut the Al Jazeera TV channel, which they view as critical of their governments.

Qatari state news agency QNA said that Qatar's ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, had "reviewed regional developments, specifically the Gulf crisis and efforts to contain it and to resolve it through diplomatic means..." in talks with Erdogan.

The agency said the talks also covered joint efforts to combat terrorism and reviewed defense and economic cooperation.

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said Qatar would achieve more by reconsidering its position.

"The Turkish president's visit did not carry anything new, and the hasty stand his country had taken made neutrality as the best option for Ankara" Gargash wrote on his Twitter account. "A Qatari review will achieve more than repeated visits."

Erdogan was the latest senior official to tour the region to try to resolve the crisis. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and foreign ministers from France, Britain and Germany also toured the area in recent weeks.

Several contingents of Turkish troops with columns of armored vehicles have arrived in Doha since the crisis erupted on June 5.

Under a 2014 agreement, Ankara could send in as many as 1,000 troops.

Turkey and Qatar have been important backers of the Muslim Brotherhood movement that has challenged entrenched Arab rulers and Erdogan has his roots in an Islamist political party.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have designated the Brotherhood a terrorist organization.

Before he arrived in Qatar, Erdogan visited Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. In Saudi Arabia, he discussed with King Salman "efforts to combat terrorism and its sources of funding", state news agency SPA said, without elaborating.

Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi in Doha and Ali Abdelaty in Cairo; Editing by Louise Ireland and Andrew Hay

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Turkey's Erdogan ends tour with no sign of Qatar progress - Reuters

alan

Sounds like the ground being prepared for an end to the refugee policy agreed with Turkey brace yourselves, again

Posted on 7/24/17 | 2:28 PM CEST

Dictators must get a response and it must be fast and swift. The longer you appease dictators the harder it get to control. lets give Erdogan a response that he get the message or we will be here in a year looking back and saying why Germany didnt respond to the early small provocations Lets make sure we have plan B with the German navy at the border so the Turks cannot push refugees on EU

Posted on 7/24/17 | 3:07 PM CEST

The issue here is that Germany has a very recent habit of being the ones forcing other countries to do what Germany wants (I would use the word dictates but it is really more strong influence). While the Turkish President is in the wrong, I also feel that the German approach over the last few years hasnt helped the international relations. It will be interesting to see the end game from both sides, and how that will have a domino effect on other areas. I think it is a case that the blame game has started for bad decisions made in Germany over the past few years, and the likely consequences of the future breakdown of relationships. Perhaps all politicians should remember that todays soundbite has a habit of turning into tomorrows wound.

Posted on 7/24/17 | 5:54 PM CEST

Nothing here that a hundred thousand revoked German green cards could not fix.

Posted on 7/24/17 | 6:45 PM CEST

Why does the EU have so many enemies all of a sudden?

Posted on 7/24/17 | 9:57 PM CEST

@wow

Because it is perceived as weak and ineffective.. and the sharks smell blood

Posted on 7/25/17 | 7:28 AM CEST

The Germans (Schauble) when they want to get a country IN the EU:

We want to have good relations with this big and important countryTurkey

But if you want to LEAVE the EU:

You are insignificant small country and will never last without us!!

OH DEAR!! its so see-through, one wonders if they really think people have no memories! SOmetimes they say opposing things to different countries on the same day and believe nobody will notice their duplicity!!!

Posted on 7/25/17 | 12:21 PM CEST

Berlin has already been blackmailed by Erdogan: that entire refugee deal was a piece of blackmail that Merkel cooked up unilaterally to save her political career other EU members, although they would have to pay a share of the 6bn euro deal, were not asked as the deal was being crafted, only after it was done.

No analyst worthy of the name would do anything but jeer at Schaubles assertion. Merkels blunder put Erdogans fingers around her and the EUs throat. If he lets those gates open before the election in September, Merkels career will never recover, and as the migrants flow to Europes shores on two fronts, the reopened Aegean/Balkan and the Mediterranean, watch the AfD and the FN and the Sweden Democrats suddenly begin to gain in the polls.

So, yes, Germany is being blackmailed and Merkel will do almost anything Turkey wants to keep those migrants in Turkey.

Posted on 7/25/17 | 11:03 PM CEST

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Schuble: Germany won't be 'blackmailed' by Erdoan - POLITICO.eu