Egypt warns Israel on new Gaza war

Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby has called on Israel to show restraint in the wake of a bomb blast in al-Quds (Jerusalem) that killed one and injured many others.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Elaraby urged Israeli authorities to exercise self-restraint and avoid compounding a tense situation that would make it difficult to resume stalled negotiations with the Palestinians, a Press TV correspondent reported on Thursday.

An Israeli woman died and more than 20 others were injured after a massive explosion rocked central al-Quds on Wednesday.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack. Israeli police, however, are blaming Palestinians for the bombing.

The explosion came a day after an Israeli shelling of Gaza in which at least 10 Palestinians, including four children, were killed and scores of others injured.

Elaraby warned Tel Aviv against launching a new war on the Hamas-controlled and blockaded Gaza Strip, saying such a move would only exacerbate the fragile situation in the region.

He also called on Palestinian resistance groups not to give the Israeli regime an excuse to make further antagonistic threats and eventually push the region towards another war.

In response to the blast in al-Quds, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted that “Israel will act aggressively, responsibly and wisely to preserve the quiet and security that has prevailed over the past two years.”

In the past, such warnings by Tel Aviv officials have spelled into violent and indiscriminate attacks on Palestinian territories leaving many civilians dead, injured and homeless.

Israeli forces have carried out large numbers of ground and air attacks on Gaza since the end of Operation Cast Lead against the Gaza Strip.

More than 1,400 Palestinians were killed during the three-week Israeli land, sea and air offensive in the impoverished coastal sliver at the turn of 2009. The offensive also inflicted USD 1.6 billion damage to the Gazan economy.

A United Nations inquiry led by the former South African judge, Richard Goldstone, detailed what investigators called Israeli actions “amounting to war crimes, possibly crimes against humanity,” during Israel’s offensive against the Gaza Strip.

Israel laid an economic siege on the Gaza Strip in June 2007, after Hamas took control of the enclave.

The blockade has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.

Some 1.5 million people are being denied their basic rights, including freedom of movement, and their rights to appropriate living conditions, work, health and education.