TheCable

The government of Israel has called for the assistance of Nigeria and the international community in resolving its conflict with Palestine.

The conflict between both countries can be traced to the 20th century, when the Arab population in the Palestine region protested against the acquisition of land by the Jewish population.

Despite different attempts to reunite the countries, their disputes have continued at frequent intervals.

However, in a statement issued by the Israeli embassy in Abuja, the country described recent unrest between it and Palestine, as an unacceptable departure from civilised conduct.

Israel blamed its Palestinian counterpart as responsible for the crisis, saying the international community is very vital in restoring normalcy.

“On October 29, Rabbi Yehuda Glick, an Israeli citizen, was shot and severely wounded in Jerusalem by a Palestinian terrorist affiliated with Islamic Jihad, Mutaz Ibrahim Khalil Hijazi,” read a statement.

“The Palestinian terrorist was subsequently killed after opening fire on Israeli law enforcement authorities who had come to arrest him.

“Regrettably, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, rather than condemn Mr. Hijazi’s act of attempted murder, sent out a condolence letter to his family in which he referred to Israel’s law enforcement agents as ‘terrorists’, while glorifying Hijazi as a ‘martyr’, who was defending the rights of the Palestinians.

“Even as Palestinian leadership was busy providing generous financial support drawn from international donations to families of Palestinian terrorists, another Palestinian terrorist on October 5, plowed into a group of Israelis as they waited at a Jerusalem rail station, killing at least one person and wounding 10.

“The government is making this appeal, bearing in mind that this is not only a matter of moral conviction and responsibility towards Israel and Nigeria’s commonly held values, it is a matter of imminent consequence for peace and stability in the region.”

Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court (ICC), on Thursday said the Israeli army committed war crimes during a raid on an aid flotilla heading to the Gaza Strip in 2010.

Fatou Bensouda, ICC’s chief prosecutor, although crimes were committed, the culprits would not be prosecuted.

“No case will be opened on the 2010 raid, as the matter was not of sufficient gravity to merit the court’s intervention,” she said.

Ten people, all Turkish citizens, including one who held dual US citizenship, were killed during the raid, which put an immense strain on Turkey’s relations with Israel.

The Gaza Strip had been under tight blockade imposed by Israel, and at times Egypt, for the past eight years.

The flotilla was using the Comoros flag.