The Palestinian Authority Presidency has blamed Israel for the recent spike in tensions and violence in the area and warned that the situation could escalate into «a major explosion» and «a point of no return» with «devastating consequences for all.»
«We hold the Israeli government responsible for the escalation of tensions on the ground against the Palestinian people and call on the U.S. administration to implement what it has committed to and act immediately to pressure Israel to stop its crimes against the Palestinian population,» said Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil abu Rudeina.
He called on the international community to provide protection to the Palestinians and called on «all popular forces and activists to continue to confront the settlers’ terrorism and their attacks, protected by the occupying army,» according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Abu Rudeina denounced that Palestinians are facing «a war» because of Israeli attacks and argued that «the continued disregard for the (Palestinian) people and their security is a decisive factor.» «It is not acceptable to allow the occupation to gain time to achieve its goals of destroying the Palestinian national project,» she said.
For his part, the Palestinian Prime Minister, Muhamad Shtaye, denounced the «collective punishment» imposed by the Israeli authorities against Palestinian cities and population in the framework of their security operations and stressed that «it will neither be accepted nor tolerated».
Shtayeh, who on Thursday went to the West Bank city of Nablus together with a group of foreign ambassadors, called again on the international community to guarantee protection to the population, implement the relevant UN resolutions and «stop the occupation and its crimes».
«We want to put an end to the occupation on the basis of international legitimacy and international law,» he has argued. «The international community sends a message to stop the murder of our children and the message of our people is one of peace, of the search for a better tomorrow that goes through the end of the occupation,» he reiterated.
