Arab League, Turkey condemn Israeli actions in Jerusalem, Gaza
The Arab League on Tuesday condemned deadly Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip and called on the international community to move urgently to stop escalating violence that it blamed on Israeli actions against Palestinians in Jerusalem.
The violence began with confrontations between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces at al Aqsa Mosque, a compound known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in the heart of Jerusalem’s walled Old City.
Israel carried out air strikes on Gaza, killing at least 28 people, after Palestinian militant groups based there unleashed barrages of rockets, some close to Jerusalem. Two people have been killed in Israel from rocket fire.
In a statement before the Arab League’s meeting, its chairman Ahmed Aboul Gheit said: “Israeli violations in Jerusalem, and the government’s tolerance of Jewish extremists hostile to Palestinians and Arabs, is what led to the ignition of the situation in this dangerous way.”
The holy city has been tense during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, with sporadic unrest and the possibility of evictions of Palestinians from homes in East Jerusalem claimed by Jewish settlers in a court case adding fuel to the friction.
