Syria holds Israel responsible for Gaza escalation

Syria on Friday held Israel responsible for the recent exacerbated situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Miqdad made the rebuke in a meeting with visiting Norwegian Foreign Minister's advisor for Mideast affairs Sefin Seifeeh, the official SANA news agency reported.

Miqdad condemned the Israeli invasion into the Gaza Strip and acts of daily killing against the Palestinian people, which made the region in tense situation, said SANA.

For his part, the Norwegian envoy rejected the Israeli practices against the Palestinians, saying his country "totally refuses Israel's arrest of Palestinian officials and the policy of putting Palestinian women and children in prisons as well as targeting Palestinian citizens".

During the meeting, the two sides centered their topics on the "dangerous" developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and the offense launched by Israel against the Palestinian people, according to SANA.

The two sides also agreed to carry on contacts in order to end the Palestinians' ordeal and realize stability in the Palestinian territories and the whole region.

Situation on the Palestinian arena escalated recently as Israel launched the "Summer Rain" military operation in the Gaza Strip after Palestinian militants kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid on June 25.

Syria is under pressure from Israel which has accused Khaled Mashaal, politburo leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Haas) based in Damascus, of ordering the kidnapping and urged Syrian leaders to pressure Mashaal to facilitate the release of Shalit.

Source: Xinhua