Erdogan calls Israel 'terror state' over clashes

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called Israel a "terror state " after Israeli police clashed with Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem.

In a speech after the breaking of Ramadan fast late Saturday, Erdogan said Turkey would always stand by Palestinians and urged Muslim states to take action.

On Friday, more than 200 Palestinians were wounded in clashes at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and elsewhere in Jerusalem, drawing condemnations from Israel's Arab allies and calls for calm from the United States, Europe and the United Nations.

Erdogan renewed his accusations against Israel, saying an attack against Al-Aqsa Mosque was an attack against all Muslims.

Dozens of Palestinians were also wounded in violent confrontations with police in Jerusalem overnight from Saturday to Sunday, when Muslims marked Laylat al-Qadr, or the "night of destiny," the holiest period of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Earlier, police blocked busloads of pilgrims headed to Jerusalem for prayer at Islam's third holiest site. Police defended their actions as security moves, but these were seen as provocations by Muslims who accuse Israel of threatening their freedom of worship.

Before dawn Sunday, thousands of Muslim worshippers skirmished anew with police at the gates of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City.

The site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, is considered the holiest site in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam.

It has been a tinderbox for serious violence in the past.