Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose aspirations for a new Islamic caliphate have been only thinly disguised, is calling for a summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation so that members can "move as one" against Israel, reports an Iranian state-run news source.
"Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told his ruling party in parliament that Ankara would call an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation," reported PressTV, which broadcasts in English.
Yildirim, in the report, said Islamic countries "should without fail review their relations with Israel."
"The Islamic world should move as one, with one voice, against this massacre," he said.
The report also said Erdogan, who now is chairman of the OIC, called for a summit to be held Friday.
The "massacre" that prompted the effort to coordinate the Islamic world was the fatality count – now 62, according to Hamas – of rioters who were protesting the opening Monday of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
The move had been ordered by the U.S. Congress in 1995, but every president until President Trump waived the requirement. Trump ordered the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December, setting in motion the move of the embassy from Tel Aviv.
The decision enraged the Muslim world, which claims Jerusalem as a holy city and the future capital of a Palestinian state.
In fact, Erdogan has vowed to open a Turkish embassy in Arab-dominated East Jerusalem.
Israeli forces fired on rioters when they tried to breach the border with Gaza. A Hamas official admitted Wednesday that 50 of the 62 casualties were members of the terrorist organization. Another three were members of the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization.
The PressTV report said a rally will be held in Istanbul under the slogan "Stop the Oppression."
"This is to show solidarity, brotherhood and togetherness," said Yildirim. "The Islamic world should move as one, with one voice, against this massacre."
The Muslim world has made several other moves to protest Trump's decision to follow the U.S. law set by Congress.
Ankara said it was recalling ambassadors to the U.S. and Israel, and Israel has expelled the Turkish consul in Jerusalem.
Erdogan, in a speech broadcast on Turkish state television, PressTV said, "accused Israel of carrying out a 'genocide.'"
He stated, "I condemn this humanitarian drama, the genocide, from whichever side it comes, Israel or America."
Demonstrators in Istanbul held banners reading "Al Quds [the Muslim name for Jerusalem] belongs to Palestinians."
At the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley blocked a resolution calling for an "international investigation" of Israel's effort to defend its border.
Haley bluntly told the U.N. Security Council: "In recent days, Hamas terrorists, backed by Iran, have incited attacks against Israeli security forces and infrastructure. There is far too little discussion in the Security Council on Iran’s destabilizing presence in Syria, its promotion of violence in Yemen, its support for terrorism in Gaza, and its dangerous and illegal weapons buildup in Lebanon."
A recent report in the WND-affiliated Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin said "one day" Edrogan "is going to declare himself the global Caliph, having set up alliances with most Middle Eastern Muslims – Sunni and Shia alike."
The report continued: "Erdoğan has found a path – and it's one that could set the world ablaze, not just the Middle East. In fact, while it's true that Sunnis and Shiites have some serious disharmony, Erdoğan, a Sunni himself, has already demonstrated his ability to work with Shia Iran. And Erdoğan has his sights set on a Caliphate that will, at least temporarily, bring together most of the Muslim world around common enemies – namely Israel and the U.S.
"What makes ErdoÄŸan such a formidable force to be reckoned with is his ability to deftly change positions in focusing on his long-term goal to re-establish the Caliphate, which only Turkey, the center of the Ottoman Empire, has been able to manage historically over the last 1,000 years."
Â