Israel National News reports that the Turkish Foreign Ministry has condemned the State of Israel–and only the State of Israel–for military actions that occurred over the weekend in Gaza.
The Turkish government – recently heralded by Obama administration allies as having become more pro-Western as a result of Obama’s policies of engagement – is quoted as expressing concern at what it labels “disproportionate and indiscriminate retaliatory attacks on Gaza that cause death to Palestinian civilians.”
The Turkish government went further and stated “We ask Israel once again to end its inhumane and unacceptable policies toward Gaza…”.
Absent from the Turkish government’s statement was any call for Hamas to cease the reported 135 Palestinian rocket attacks that had been launched at Israeli civilians as of on 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening – a day Israelis celebrate as a religious day of rest.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reports that only 74 of the rockets were able to land within Israel, a number the IDF credits to the Iron Dome defense system. Eight Israelis have been wounded from the Palestinian violence, and the Palestinian Ma’an news service reports that 15 Palestinians have been killed by defensive Israeli airstrikes.