Israel heads towards isolation: Turkey's Erdoğan

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on July 24 that Israel is headed towards isolation because of measures imposed at the al-Aqsa compound in East Jerusalem.

"Equating the Muslims who come for worship with terrorists is a great eclipse of reason," Erdoğan said at a news conference at the Esenboğa Airport after returning from a two-day visit to the Gulf region.

These measures ignore Muslims' right to worship and disregard the holiness of al-Aqsa causing tensions to increase further, he said.

"Israel, with its disregard for the rule of law, not only harms itself but the whole region. Israel is heading in the wrong direction with the steps it has taken and I am saying very clearly it is heading towards isolation," Erdoğan said.

Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu's comments validating the authorities' measures at the al-Aqsa compound are against freedom of religion and the universal declaration of human rights, according to Erdoğan.

"There is no acceptable side to Netanyahu's statements," he said.

Anger has spilled across the West Bank since last week when Israel closed the al-Aqsa mosque, venerated by Muslims and Jews—who call the site Temple Mount—following a deadly shootout.     

The mosque was reopened after two days, with Israel installing metal detectors and cameras at its gates.

Three Palestinians were killed Friday in protests against Israeli measures around the holy site. Three Israelis were also killed in an attack in a settlement in the West Bank.

Israel refused to remove the metal detectors, claiming the security measures are similar to procedures taken at other holy sites around the world.

Jerusalem is sacred to Muslims, Jews and Christians and the al-Aqsa mosque...