The Palestinian leadership warned of further deterioration that could threaten security and stability in the entire region. They say Israel is fully responsible for deadly escalation…reports Asian Lite News
Palestine officials blamed Israel for the current “serious” tension in the West Bank and Occupied East Jerusalem, which has left dozens of people dead this month.
“We hold the Israeli government fully responsible for the dangerous escalation that the situation has reached due to its crimes of killing, its continuation of settlement, the annexation of land, and the demolition of homes,” said a statement released by the Palestinian leadership after President Mahmoud Abbas held a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
“These policies are a result of the Israeli occupation government’s evasion of its commitment to implement the signed peace agreements and its violation of international resolutions,” the statement said.
The Palestinian leadership warned of further deterioration that could threaten security and stability in the entire region.
A gunman opened fire on people near a synagogue at a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem on Friday, killing at least seven people and wounded three others, one day after the Israeli forces raided the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank and killed nine Palestinians and wounded 16 others.
Palestinian factions, most notably Hamas and Islamic Jihad, vowed to respond to the escalation. The Palestinian Authority announced on Thursday the end of decades-long security coordination with Israel.
More clashes
Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police erupted in Occupied Jerusalem Saturday night in the wake of two anti-Israeli attacks in the disputed holy city.
Israeli police entered Arab neighbourhoods in the city looking for people who may have assisted the assailants in the previous attacks, sparking clashes with Palestinians.
“The forces are encountering stone throwing, Molotov cocktails and fireworks,” said a police statement, adding the police’s increased operational readiness “will continue in the coming days.”
Footage on social media showed widespread firing of fireworks in several Jerusalem neighbourhoods.
Also on Saturday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that a Palestinian assailant shot at a restaurant near the Dead Sea. There were no casualties and the shooter escaped from the scene.
Israeli media also reported the Israeli military entered the West Bank Palestinian city of Jericho. The details of the raid were unclear and it was not confirmed by the military.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security cabinet meeting later Saturday to discuss the response to the latest events, vowing the response “will be strong, swift and precise.”
Meanwhile, thousands of Jordanians took part in a demonstration in the capital Amman to protest the killing of Palestinians in Jenin by Israeli forces.
“The raids in the West Bank by the Israeli forces are unjustified and innocent Palestinians were killed, including women and children,” said Mohammad Abu Freij, one of the demonstrators.
“We are here to show our support to our brotherly Palestinians and to make our voices heard,” he added.
Jumaa Halaweh, another demonstrator aged 57, said the Arabs and Muslims should “exert more efforts other than just condemnations to stop the Israel aggression.”
On Thursday, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry denounced the Israelis’ escalating military campaign and warned of a “new wave of violence,” urging Israel to halt all military operations against Palestinians and refrain from illegitimate procedures that would undermine the two-state solution and opportunities for peace.
The raids come a few days after King Abdullah II of Jordan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Amman. During the meeting, the king stressed the need to maintain calm and cease all acts of violence in order to pave the way for a political horizon for the peace process.
Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli army force stormed the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank and killed nine Palestinians, including an elderly woman, and wounded 16, four of them in serious condition, according to Palestinian Health Ministry.
In another development, thousands of Israelis demonstrated on Saturday in several cities to protest the government’s plan to make sweeping reforms in the judicial system.
The protests have continued for a few consecutive weeks against the newly sworn-in government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The demonstrators say the planned reforms will weaken the courts and give the ruling coalition limitless power.
The Netanyahu-led far-right coalition says the changes are necessary in order to limit the judicial system which has become too powerful in recent decades. They also complain that the Supreme Court often intervenes in political issues that should be determined by the parliament.
Netanyahu has vowed to push forward with the reforms despite the protests. His opponents say the reforms are personally motivated as the longest-serving Israeli leader himself is on trial for various counts of corruption.
The reforms will give the parliament the ability to override Supreme Court rulings with a simple majority. In addition, politicians will have greater influence in appointing Supreme Court judges, and legal advisers to the ministries will be political appointments rather than civil servants.
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