Erdogan will not “allow Muslim prayers silenced in Jerusalem”

Turkish President Reccep Erdogan talking to the International Forum on Jerusalem in Istanbul Monday, referred to the draft bills before the Knesset, banning amplified overnight calls to prayers from mosque loudspeakers in residential areas. He called the bill “shameful” and declared “we will not allow the silence of prayers form the heavens of Jerusalem.”  Erdogan also said that the discussions about the US moving its embassy to Jerusalem are extremely wrong. “We made the necessary warnings on this issue at the highest level and we are continuing to do so.” He voiced support for the “Palestinian struggle against the occupation of Jerusalem” and called on Muslims to go and pray at Al Aqsa (Temple Mount) and prevent the Jewish takeover.

The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem responded: “A systematic human rights violator in his own country has no business preaching moral conduct to the only real democracy in the region,” the statement said. “Israel jealously upholds full freedom of worship for Jews, Muslims and Christians – and will continue to do so in the face of unfounded defamation.”