Istanbul  - Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Istanbul Sunday to protest Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip.

To the backdrop of large screens broadcasting Al-Jazeera news reports of Israeli ground operations, the protesters in Caglayan Square on the European side of the city shouted "death to Israel" and "we are all Palestinians".

"We are here to share our feelings with the Palestinians", a young man at the rally told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry meanwhile called on Israel immediately to halt operations.

Ankara - Prosecutors in Turkey are seeking to increase a jail sentence that was handed down to Leyla Zana, a former parliamentarian and winner of the European Parliament's 1995 Sakharov Peace Prize, from 10 to 45 years, the Anadolu news agency reported on Friday.

A court in the south-eastern city of Diyarbakir last month ruled that Zana had spread "terrorist propaganda" in a number of speeches made in recent years, and that she was a member of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), sentencing her to ten years in prison.

Ankara  - Turkish state televison (TRT) launched a new Kurdish-language station Thursday evening, in a move that the government hopes will see Kurdish-speakers reject Roj TV, a satellite television station run by the separatist Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).

The TRT 6 station was launched with a live concert in Ankara by Kurdish performers. A pre-recorded message by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was also broadcast with the prime minister saying that the Turkish state was inclusive and belonged to all citizens.

Amman - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks at the Red Sea resort of Aqaba Wednesday with Jordan's King Abdullah as part of regional tour aimed at ending the Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

Abdullah urged the world community "to move immediately to stop the Israeli aggression which represents a flagrant violation of humanitarian, legal and ethical standards", the statement said.

Ankara - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday warned of the Middle East getting trapped in a "spiral of violence" ahead of a regional tour aimed at exerting pressure on Israel to stop its military operations in Gaza.

"Developments in the Gaza Strip are very dangerous for regional peace ... we cannot remain silent," Erdogan said before leaving for Syria.

"We are concerned that the Middle East will become trapped in a spiral of violence. The aim of this tour is to bring about an end to this dangerous situation," Erdogan said.