Turks shocked by Al-Aqsa Mosque clashes

It remains a mystery to outside observers what exactly happened the morning of Nov. 5 at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, though it's certain that the morning's events triggered speculation of an imminent third intifada. Based on Turkish news coverage, the general perception was that Israeli security forces entered the mosque and clashed with the Palestinians praying inside, throwing several Qurans to the floor.

"You cannot soil these sacred grounds with your dirty boots — you can only smear your souls," Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan said Nov. 6. "What will happen if a state, a government, an administration derails and acts in a perverted way and conducts persecution?"

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ramped up the criticism. Erdogan said that no such intervention at Al-Aqsa Mosque had occurred since 1967. He described the Israeli action as “barbaric” and “despicable” and argued that Israel was knowingly “provoking” Palestinians to more violence. “The Al-Aqsa Mosque is not only important for Arabs and Palestinians, but for all the Muslims in the world. This Israeli action is barbaric, nefarious and inexcusable,” Erdogan said Nov. 6. “There is a planning here. There is a strategic approach. One needs to really think hard about [the timing] of this incident.”

Erdogan contended that Israel intentionally selected this moment to create a new crisis with the Palestinians, since the world’s attention was focused on developments in Kobani and Aleppo, with Islamic State militants fighting hard to take over those two Syrian cities.