Attackers From Egypt Kill 7 in Israel, PM Vows to Respond
Seven people have been killed and dozens of others wounded in attacks in southern Israel on Thursday.
The attackers came into Israel from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and attacked buses, cars, and an army patrol.
Israeli analysts are suspecting that militants are using the instability in the region to set up bases for attacking the Israeli state.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised statement, “If terror organizations think they can strike at our civilians without eliciting a response, then they will find that Israel will exact a price – a very heavy price.”
The sentiments of the Israeli Prime Minister were extremely similar to the Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s sentiments yesterday after a Kurdish ambush in eastern Turkey left seven people dead and injured over a dozen people.
The Turkish leader also argued that the cost of the ambush would be “very heavy.”
Both governments responded immediately to the attacks in their countries with Turkey bombing P.K.K. bases in northern Iraq and Israel attacking terror targets along the Gaza strip killing the leader of the Popular Resistance Committee that orchestrated the attacks.
However, Israel and Turkey are in a feud of their own over an Israeli raid that took place last year that killed nine Turkish citizens aboard a Gaza-bound ship. The ship was bringing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.
Israel has refused to apologize to Turkey, which has led to an uncharacteristically large rift between the two former allies over the past year.
Ironically, with the two incidences happening only a day apart, it has become apparent that with a Middle East that harbors several looming movements of people that are frustrated and resorting to violence, what the two governments need most are allies to protect each other against uprisings and terrorist attacks.
The United States has been working on bringing the two countries, that are both standing their ground, back together and the attacks on Turkish and Israeli soil display that both countries, and the world at large, will likely be forced to address these issues more and more in the coming months.
