Jerusalem, Nov 19: The deadly attacks on two synagogues in Istanbul were aimed at all of humanity, said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an interview published in Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot today. "The Istanbul attacks (of Saturday) did not only target the Jewish community in Turkey, but all of the Turkish people as well as the whole of humanity," Erdogan said in written responses to the newspaper.

"These are neither the first nor the last attacks. International terrorism is now the number one problem in the world the real target in Istanbul was not the Jewish community, but society as a whole, the stability and security of the population," he added. The Istanbul attacks resulted in 23 dead, of which six were members of the Jewish community, and more than 300 wounded.

"In Turkey, Jews and Turks are brothers and belong to the same family. There has been 100 years of harmony between them. When one is hurt, the other suffers. The modern western world must take note," Erdogan said.

"Western countries should revise their policies on terrorism, and respond to Turkey's call for a joint anti-terrorist platform made several years ago," he continued. He asserted that "relations between Israel and Turkey will continue to develop for their mutual benefit, particularly in the political, economic, technological, scientific and military domains."

Erdogan stressed that "Israel, like Turkey, respects democratic principles and the market economy."

Bureau Report