Turkey condemns Israeli attacks against UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey condemns Israel’s attacks targeting the U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon (UNIFIL), its foreign ministry said late on Thursday, adding Ankara would continue supporting similar peacekeeping initiatives and structures.

Israeli attacks against UNIFIL in recent days, amid the war in Gaza and the cross-border clashes with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, have wounded U.N. personnel and prompted international alarm.

In New York, Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said Israel recommends UNIFIL relocate north in Lebanon “to avoid danger as fighting intensifies”.

“Israel’s attacks on UN forces, following its massacres against civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon is a manifestation of its perception that its crimes go unpunished,” Turkey’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

“The international community is obliged to ensure that Israel abides by international law,” it said, adding that Turkey contributed to the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force with one corvette and five personnel.

Turkey has been fiercely critical of Israel’s offensives in Gaza and Lebanon. It has halted all trade with Israel, applied to join a genocide case against Israel at the World Court, and repeatedly called for an end to Western support of Israel along with international measures to stop its assaults.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)