UK mum on Israeli airstrikes

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/194755.html

British Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Alistair Burt has said nothing about Israel's airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, even as he condemned the recent incident in Eilat.

Although Israel's airstrikes on the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip have killed at least 14 people, Burt deplored the attacks on Israeli buses but was silent about Israel's brutal attacks on innocent Palestinians in Gaza.

"As efforts for peace in the region continue, this brutality has no place, nor its perpetrators any excuse. My thoughts and prayers are with those killed and injured and I offer sincere condolences to their families and friends," Burt said.

Last Thursday, gunmen armed with heavy weapons, guns, and explosives opened fire on a bus carrying Israeli soldiers while a rocket was fired at another bus near the Red Sea resort of Eilat.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak tried to link the attacks to the Gaza Strip, accusing resistance groups affiliated with Hamas of launching the assaults in Eilat, and Tel Aviv promised a “full force” response targeting the Palestinians of Gaza.

Nevertheless, the democratically elected government of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, which currently controls Gaza, categorically denied the accusations.

In response to Israel's bellicose rhetoric, senior Hamas member Salah al-Bardawil stated that the Palestinian people are not afraid of “Zionist threats” and will respond to any act of aggression by Israel.

Since Thursday, Israel has launched several airstrikes, which have killed 16 Palestinians and three Egyptians.