Baku. TurkicWorld:

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on March 19, held a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, expressing his sadness over the recent violence in the West Bank and Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, reports TurkicWorld with the reference DailySabah.

In a tweet, Erdogan said the two leaders had discussed the recent events caused by "some radical Israeli groups and security forces" in the call amid efforts to normalize ties between the two countries.

His remarks came after at least 152 Palestinians were wounded in clashes with Israeli riot police inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Friday, the latest outbreak in an upsurge of violence that has raised fears of a slide back to wider conflict.

"We are deeply saddened by the fact that more than 400 Palestinians were injured and 18 people, including children, lost their lives in the events that took place in the West Bank and Al-Aqsa Mosque since the beginning of the month of Ramadan," Erdogan said.

He said he told Herzog "the fact that Al-Aqsa Mosque was raided by fanatic groups after the morning prayer yesterday and the day before ... and the spread of the tension to Gaza increased our sadness."

Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavushoglu said, "we are continuing our contacts in response to the unacceptable attacks by Israeli security forces in the West Bank and Al-Aqsa."