Despite Reconciliation, Turkey Condemns Israel for Gaza Strikes

Turkey condemned Israel for strikes by IDF tanks and planes at targets in Gaza overnight Sunday. The IDF responded to a rocket attack on southern Israel Sunday afternoon from Gaza by hitting Hamas targets twice.

Turkey stressed that it would continue to criticize Israel, despite agreeing to restore diplomatic ties.

“The attacks, which caused injuries to innocent Palestinian civilians, are not acceptable regardless of their grounds,” Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency reported Monday.

“Normalizing ties with Israel does not mean that we will keep silent in the face of attacks against the Palestinian people,” the Ministry also said.

Turkey’s Parliament in a weekend session approved a reconciliation agreement with Israel restoring diplomatic ties and normalizing relations after a six-year freeze.

Turkish media reported that early on Monday morning, Turkish police increased security around Israel’s consulate in Istanbul after detaining five people who tried to break into the building to protest the Israeli strikes late Sunday night.

The incident happened at 1:45 a.m. when 12 people gathered in front of the Israeli consulate. Police detained five and released the other seven, after running background checks on the protesters.

One detained protester shouted, “People get killed in Gaza. Burn this place today,” as he was being escorted to a police car.