Egypt's newly appointed Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (Photo: AP)
Egypt's foreign ministry released a statement on Wednesday condemning the killing of Palestinian teenager Mohamed Hussein Abu-Khdeir by Israeli settlers, reiterating its rejection to violence from both sides, reported Al-Ahram's Arabic website.
The ministry demanded Israel practice self restraint and refrain from collective punishment.
The statement warned that if the situation escalates, it will lead to a non-ending circle of violence where innocent civilians will fall victim. It demanded Israel halt its provocative policies, including the expansion of settlements.
Since the disappearance and then subsequent deaths of Gil-Ad Shaer and US-Israeli national Naftali Fraenkel, both aged 16, and Eyal Yifrah, 19, Israeli raids have spread from house-to-house searches in Hebron, a Hamas stronghold, to Palestinian towns and cities across the West Bank.
Palestinian teenager Abu-Khdeir, 16, was kidnapped and killed. According to Ma’an news agency, surveillance cameras showed Israelis stepping out of a car in front of Abu-Khdeir’s house and forced him inside before driving off.
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