An Israeli police sapper carries part of a rocket fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip from the yard of a house in the city of Sderot, southern Israel, Sunday, August 21, 2016. There was property damage however.
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“When terrorists in Gaza attack people during summer vacation their intentions are clear- to inflict pain, cause fear and to terrorize”, Lerner said.
Just days after Turkish parliament ratifies Israel-Turkey reconciliation deal, Ankara strongly condemns Israel’s retaliatory attacks on Gaza after rockets fired into Sderot; ‘Normalization with Israel doesn’t mean we won’t defend Palestinians’. “The attacks that injured innocent Palestinian civilians are not acceptable on any grounds”, the Ministry said in a statement.
“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.
Yildirim added that Turkey hopes to clarify that it does not accept nor agree with Israeli strikes in Gaza.
Security sources in the coastal strip said several targets in northern Gaza were hit by Israeli fire, and that a reservoir in the town of Beit Hanun was destroyed. “Israel will continue to defend its civilians from all rocket fire on our territory, in accordance with worldwide law and our conscience”.
Emmanuel Nahshon, spokesman for Israel’s foreign ministry, responded by calling Turkey to “think twice before criticising the military actions of others”.
Ankara’s condemnation came a day after both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin issued statements condemning the terrorist attack in Gaziantep that killed 54 people, and called on the worldwide community to join efforts to fight terrorism.
The remains of Israeli soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, killed in the 2014 Gaza war with Hamas, are being held in Gaza.
Israel holds Hamas, which rules Gaza, responsible for any rocket fire against its citizens.
“We will continue to be advocates for the Palestinian issue”, they added.
However, it also said that if Israel pushed it, it would respond in kind.
On July 2, Israeli air raids hit four sites in Gaza after a rocket struck a building in Sderot. No casualties or damage were reported from the rocket strike.
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