Al-Aqsa Mosque

Foreign ministers from Islamic countries will meet in Istanbul on August 1st to discuss the situation at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the Foreign Ministry announced on Friday, quoted by Daily Sabah.

Members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold an extraordinary meeting following a call from Ankara.

The executive committee of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is scheduled to have an emergency meeting in Istanbul on Aug. 1 at the foreign ministers level. They are due to discuss the recent al-Aksa Mosque tension with Israel, following a call by Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan.

Foreign ministers of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) will convene in Istanbul on Aug. 1 to discuss ongoing tension in east Jerusalem after Israel attempted to restrict the use of the Harem al-Sherif for Muslims, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement. 

Violence broke out in and around Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque Thursday, with Israeli police using tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to dispel stone-throwing demonstrators who had entered the compound, according to NBC News.

Israel's decision to remove the metal detectors from the entrance to the Haram al-Sharif compound, known to Israelis as the Temple Mount, seems to have assuaged recent tensions. The issue, however, still has the potential to upset the shaky regional order.

Palestinians were set to return to pray at a sensitive Jerusalem holy site on July 27 after Israeli authorities removed controversial new security measures, potentially ending a nearly two-week crisis that sparked deadly unrest.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on July 26 that the removal of metal detectors from the entrances to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City was a right move but not enough. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged Muslims across the world to "visit" and "protect" Jerusalem, slamming what he said was an "unacceptable" infringement on Palestinians' rights to a holy site, according to the Independent.

Israel removed metal detectors from entrances to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City on July 25 in favor of CCTV cameras, hoping to calm days of violence, but Palestinians said the modified security measures were still unacceptable.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged Muslims across the world to “visit” and “protect” Jerusalem.
The leader’s comments on Tuesday came after days of violence sparked over access to the al-Aqsa mosque in the city’s Noble Sanctuary, known as the Temple Mount in Judaism.