Turkey, Arab League urge international community to halt violence in Gaza

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Speaking about the recent escalation of violence on the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, a spokesman for the Turkish president urged the international community to action against hostilities.

"Israel must immediately stop these attacks against the people of Gaza. The international community must take responsibility and act immediately, "Ibrahim Kalin tweeted.

"Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit condemned the military escalation by Israel and the air raids on the Gaza Strip, the victims of which are civilians in the Gaza Strip. 

I have called on the international community to take swift and decisive action to encourage Israel, as an occupying force, to immediately cease military operations in Gaza, which are a clear violation of international law, and to support the efforts by Egypt and the United Nations in this direction, "the statement reads.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need for Israel to comply with the Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians and the inadmissibility of attacks on civilian facilities.

Norway Helping to Mediate Israel-Gaza Conflict

At the same time, Norway announced they were working with the United Nations and Egypt to restore peace after violence erupted between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza.

"Norway [is] concerned by the escalation of violence in and around Gaza. Norway works with the UN and Egypt to restore calm, "the Norwegian Foreign Ministry tweeted.

The Nordic nation slammed as "unacceptable" the rocket fire that had since come from the Palestinian enclave and urged the sides to exercise restraint to protect civilians. Israel struck over 160 militant targets in Gaza in retaliation.

Earlier in the day, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, said that United Nations was working closely with Egypt and was concerned with the spike of violence between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Palestine Urges Int'l Community to Step Into End Gaza Violence

Palestinian authorities denounce Israeli violence against Palestinians in Gaza, urging the international community to immediately intervene in order to prevent further escalation, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told Sputnik on Tuesday.

"Sure, it's a difficult time. The president and the government condemn the Israeli attacks on Gaza. We are calling for immediate international intervention in order to stop this escalation and to prevent deaths, "the ambassador said.

I have highlighted that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had already held extensive discussions on the issue at an international and regional levels.

Earlier, Abbas cut short his foreign trip and returned to Ramallah from Kuwait to closely follow the events. The Palestinian leader also instructed the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations to request an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the situation in Gaza. Palestine has also called for an urgent meeting of the League of Arab States.

Violence on the Gaza Border With Israel

Violence between Israel and the Hamas militant group running Gaza erupted Monday after a Hamas commander was killed in a covert Israeli operation. An Israeli officer also died in the ensuing gunfight.

The Israeli military said it had intercepted over 100 out of the 460 rockets fired from Gaza over the past day, and attacked 160 militant targets in the enclave. Both sides have suffered casualties.

Source: Sputnik

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