EGYPT AND SOUTH AFRICA CONDEMN ISRAEL AFTER TEL AVIV BOMBING

Egypt, South Africa condemn Israel (JPost)
Egypt and South Africa's condemnations of Monday's suicide bombing stood out from the others that poured in from around the world because they equated the terrorist act with Israeli actions.
The Egyptian State Information Service put out a statement Wednesday saying Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit "deplored the Israeli shelling of the northern Gaza Strip and the massive raid mounted against the West Bank city of Nablus." Gheit said, "Continued Israeli military operations and the oppression of the Palestinian civilians fan feelings of hatred and derail peace efforts."

The statement continued: "Aboul-Gheit further denounced the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv's Central Bus Station, which killed eight [sic] people and injured up to 52 others." Nine people were killed in the attack.

The statement said that Egypt's ambassador to the United Nations, Maguid Abdul-Fattah, "blamed the latest turmoil to the Israeli measures, including the economic blockade, the isolation of Palestinian cities and villages as well as restrictions on the movement of the Palestinians and their goods due to the West Bank separation wall."

The South African Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, issued a statement saying that it condemned the bombing "in the strongest possible terms."

At the same time, the statement read, "The suicide bombing, which follows the bombing of Gaza last week that left dead more than 15 Palestinians, including a baby and a number of innocent children, are all acts that are counterproductive to peace."

Then, implying that Israel engages in terrorism, the statement continued, "We stand firm in our belief that no cause can justify the resort to terror against innocent civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli, as acts of terror cannot deliver the much cherished peace and security sought by Palestinians and Israelis alike."