The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday issued a statement condemning a recent series of Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip, warning Tel Aviv against "allowing the situation to get out of hand."
On Monday and Tuesday, Israeli jets pounded a number of targets throughout the besieged coastal enclave, resulting in several reported injuries. Israeli jets also reportedly attacked a tunnel linking the strip to Egypt near the southern town of Rafah.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki expressed Egypt's "concern" over the escalation, calling on all parties to "exercise restraint" and "consider the consequences" of their actions.
Zaki went on to describe the raids as an attempt by Tel Aviv to divert media attention away from the failure of peace talks, which, he said, had broken down due to "Israeli intransigence." He stressed that Israel "should not be allowed to deflect attention away from its responsibility for the collapse of the peace process."
"Israel must understand that these attacks will only serve to inflame tensions and ill feelings towards it in the region," said Zaki. "Such behavior cannot be tolerated at this critical stage."
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
