Representatives from key Muslim nations have met in Turkey following weeks of controversy over Israeli actions at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque.<br /><br />Tensions erupted after Israel installed metal detectors there following the shooting of two Israeli policemen. <br /><br />After international condemnation, Israel removed the detectors. <br /><br />Speaking at the meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in İstanbu Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said that the measures imposed by Israel “complicated the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.”<br /><br />“Closing Al-Aqsa mosque for worshippers is a violation against the feelings of Muslims all over the world. It’s a horrible development which can make the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories more complicated.”<br /><br />At the same meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Israel had taken “a step toward common sense” after it reversed its decision to install metal detectors at the entranc.<br /><br />“We hope that from now on Israel adopts an attitude that fully takes into consideration Muslims’ sensitivities surrounding Jerusalem and the Holy Sites.”<br /><br />The Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrine, sits in the heart of the Old City. It is also the holiest place in Judaism.<br /><br />Israel captured East Jerusalem, including the Old City and the holy compound, in the 1967 Middle East war. It annexed the area in a move that has never been recognised internationally.<br /><br />Israel said the measures were needed for security, while Palestinians called them an effort to put the site under Israeli control.<br /><br />The removal of the metal detectors was welcomed by the Arab world, but disturbances quickly resumed when thousands of Muslim worshippers surged back into the mosque.<br />
