Turkey's opposition parties have strongly condemned the ongoing Israeli onslaught against the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Their comments came on Friday, a day after the Israeli army launched a ground operation against the long-besieged territory on top of 11 days of relentless airstrikes, which together have killed at least 271 Palestinians and injured more than 2,050.
The main opposition Republican People's Party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said: "The UN Security Council must take this tragedy in hand as soon as possible.
"Ensuring sustainable peace is the first thing to be done. If it is achieved, then Turkey, and the whole world will relax."
- Sanctions call
Kilicdaroglu added that the violation of human rights in the conflict was a problem for the world.
He described the offensive, which Israeli leaders have declared is aimed at halting rocket fire from the Palestinian territory, as being "disproportionate".
The deputy group chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party, Oktay Vural said: "The UN and Organization of the Islamic Conference should meet immediately and ensure these attacks are stopped."
Vural added that political, economic and social measures and sanctions should be imposed against Israel.
- Compensation call
Condemning Israel's actions, the Central Executive Board of Turkey's left-wing Peoples' Democracy Party called on Tel Aviv to end the attacks, withdraw the army and compensate Palestinians for their losses.
Turkish lawmakers have published a joint declaration condemning the attacks on Gaza, and Turkish opposition parties have demanded that Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu inform the general assembly about the offensive.
Meanwhile, Gaza-based resistance factions have continued to fire rockets at Israel – some of which have reached Tel Aviv.
Israel's military operation, dubbed "Operation Protective Edge," is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the embattled Gaza Strip – home to some 1.8 million Palestinians – in the last six years.
http://www.aa.com.tr/en
