ANKARA

UN General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir urged Israel to "display respect" to places of worship amid Israeli police raid on Friday at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem. 

"I am saddened by the news that the Israeli police raided with sound bombs the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, on the last friday of the Holy month of Ramadan," said Bozkir on Twitter. "I urge display of respect to all places of worship, including Al-Aqsa, which is sacred & significant for 1,8 billion Muslims".

Israeli police attempted to disperse worshippers inside the Haram al-Sharif area of Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday evening, using stun grenades and gas bombs.

At least 163 people were injured in Israeli attacks in Al-Aqsa Mosque, Damascus gate of Old City, and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

Israeli police attacked Muslim worshippers inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque, while worshippers were performing Tarawih, special nightly prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.