The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called upon Israel to practice restraint, and to abstain from policies of collective punishment towards Palestinians following Israel’s Tuesday attack on Gaza.
The Israeli bombings came hours after the discovery of the bodies of three teenagers that went missing from the West Bank on 12 June.
The foreign ministry also asked Israel to give the Palestinian authorities the space to track down those responsible and bring them to justice.
“Egypt condemns all violence that results in the killing of civilians from both sides,” said a foreign ministry statement Tuesday.
The foreign ministry statement is a part of Egypt’s continuous attempts to contain the repercussions of the incident. Egypt is also looking to prevent the situation spiralling out of control, the statement said.
Israel holds Hamas responsible for the kidnapping and murder of the teenagers. Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon vowed Tuesday to track down the murderers and punish Hamas for the act, the Jerusalem Post reported.
“We will continue to hunt down the boys’ murderers, and we will not rest nor remain silent until we get our hands on them,” Ya’alon said.
The Egyptian statement added that current events reflect the frailty of the situation and that future moves should aim for a fair and comprehensive solution. Any outcome, it added, should ensure the establishment of a Palestinian sovereign viable state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“These are all temporary solutions which do not achieve peace and stability in the region,” the statement said.
The Egyptian statement added that the ministry is closely following the developments in Palestine through intensive communication with all active regional and international sides. The ministry said their aim is to protect Palestinians and to dissuade Israel from retaliatory attacks that would only result in the killing of innocent civilians and “fan the flames” of the situation.
They also emphasised the need to return to the negotiation table in order to settle the protracted conflict.
