Turks decry Israel, gov't condemns attack against Palestinian civilians

The Turkish Foreign Ministry strongly condemned Israel's disproportionate attacks in the blockaded Gaza Strip on Monday. "The attacks that injured innocent Palestinian civilians are not acceptable on any grounds," the Ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry said Israel's "hostile attitude" both interrupts the peace process and the previous period of military inactivity.

"Normalizing ties with Israel does not mean that we will keep silent in the face of attacks against the Palestinian people," the Ministry said, referring to the recent restoration of ties between Turkey and Israel after a six-year standoff.

A group of people also protested the attack in front of the Israeli consulate late Sunday in Istanbul, where police detained five people who attempted to jump over a fence into the front yard of the consulate building.