Turkish demonstrators protest Israeli violence on Palestinians

Thousands demonstrated in Turkey outside the Israeli Embassy on Monday in protest of Israeli violence against Palestinians amid escalating clashes.

Reuters reports that demonstrators broke with the full lockdown restrictions currently in effect in Turkey. Those gathered chanted, “Down with Israel, down with America.”

Mosques all across Turkey also played broadcasts in support of Palestine, Voice of America reports. Many of those gathered outside the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul waved Palestinian flags.

According to a statement from his office, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke with King Abdullah of Jordan, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh by phone.

Erdoğan reportedly said to King Abdullah that Israel’s violence toward Palestinians went against all Muslims and that their respective countries needed to work together to stop it.

In Turkey, protests against Israel over surge in violence https://t.co/r7r8ywmKto pic.twitter.com/00u1RyXoZc

— Reuters (@Reuters) May 11, 2021

Last week, Erdoğan publicly condemned Israel’s actions.

“Israel, the cruel terrorist state, attacks the Muslims in Jerusalem, whose only concern is to protect their homes and their sacred values, in a savage manner devoid of ethics,” Erdoğan said, according to VOA.

International outcry has grown as violence has continued to escalate in Jerusalem, including violence inside the Al-Aqsa mosque during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The conflict has followed protests surrounding the forced eviction of Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Ensuing clashes have left hundreds injured.

On Monday, it was reported that Hamas had launched rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Ministry of Health said on Monday that 20 people had been killed by a retaliatory Israeli airstrike as a result, including nine children.