Turkish official condemns Austria for hoisting Israeli flag

By Ali Murat Alhas

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey's presidential spokesman on Friday criticized Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz for hoisting the Israeli flag on the roof of the chancellery building in Vienna amid attacks on Palestine by the Jewish state.

“This is what encourages Israel to continue its attacks on Palestinian people,” Ibrahim Kalin said in a tweet. “I hope those Austrians and Europeans with a sense of reason and morality will reject these disgraceful politics.”

Kurz had tweeted a photo with a caption that read: "Today the Israeli flag was hoisted on the roof of the Federal Chancellery as a sign of solidarity with #Israel ... Together we stand by Israel's side."

Tensions have been running high since an Israeli court ordered the eviction of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

Palestinians protesting in solidarity with residents of the neighborhood were then targeted by Israeli forces.

The occupying forces also raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque during special night prayers during Ramadan.

The subsequent escalation of tensions resulted in airstrikes by Israel on Gaza that have killed at least 122 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.