Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to a Turkish inspection of the construction work near al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the Turkish prime minister said Thursday. According to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Olmert had shown him photographs of the construction work during a meeting between the two, but failed to convince him that it would not harm the holy sites there. The Israeli leader agreed to a Turkish proposal for a technical team from Turkey to inspect the site, he said.
"I suggested Israeli PM Ehud Olmert to send a technical delegation (from Turkey) to examine the construction activities around Al-Aqsa Mosque. Olmert accepted my offer," said Erdogan in a joint press conference with Olmert following their tete-a-tete meeting in Ankara on Thursday.
On his part, Olmert agreed to the Turkish move, stating that, "Israel has nothing to hide."
Olmert arrived to Turkey with the intention of discussing Iran's efforts to build nuclear weapons. He said, "If tougher economic sanctions were imposed, Iran would be forced to review its position." Limited sanctions have been imposed by The U.N. Security Council. However, many countries are reluctant to cut all trade ties to the energy-rich country.
Erdogan also urged Olmert to open negotiations with the Palestinian "appeasement" government, without waiting for acceptance of the Quartet's three preconditions. Olmert said, "we want to make peace with Syria, if there is peace we will be satisfied and happy. We especially want Syria to stop supporting terrorism and abide by the rules set up by the international community."
