Somalia condemns Israeli onslaught against Palestinians

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Federal Government of Somalia has expressed concerns over the ongoing violence in the Middle East, involving Israeli forces and Palestinians, which has seen several people die in the last few days.

While Hamas has been firing rockets on Israeli territories, the Israelites have in return descended on Palestinians, firing randomly and even killing dozens, some of them children. The conflict was reignited last week.

And in a statement, the Somali government has condemned Israel's attacks on Palestine and called on the world to take action. Most of the clashes were witnessed in West Bank and Gaza strip, along with Jerusalem, the Holy city which is claimed by Israel.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Balal Osman, who attended an Arab League conference on the situation, said: "Somalia supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and independent."

Somalia also asked the two parties to look for amicable means of solving the current impasse, adding that violence doesn't help. The statement comes at the time Somalia is also facing an internal electoral crisis that is yet to be solved.

The conflict in the Middle East has also been condemned by Amnesty International, which asked both parties to refrain from engaging in violence, adding that Israeli should spare children and women, who are the most affected victims in the crisis.

"Amnesty is also calling on the Israeli authorities to immediately halt forced evictions in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah and end the ongoing forced displacement of Palestinians from East Jerusalem," the group said in a statement.

"In the latest escalation, Palestinian armed groups have today fired rockets and missiles into Israel injuring at least one Israeli and there have been reports of several people killed in Gaza from retaliatory attacks by Israel. Amnesty calls on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and take all feasible precautions to avoid harming civilians."

At least 20 Palestinians, including nine children, have been killed by Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. Hundreds injured in the past 24hrs even as the US said Israel's brutal acts "self-defense", a statement supported by Benjamin Netanyahu.

Thousands gathered in Gaza to mourn people who died as a result of Israeli airstrikes. The conflict has been running for centuries but Israel has been enjoying support from most Western countries, including the US, which recognized Jerusalem as the capital city of the Jewish nation.

GAROWE ONLINE