A Palestinian Authority official says the latest siege of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus by Israeli forces, as well as their aggression on Palestinian cities, is a declaration of war against the Palestinian people.
In a statement on Wednesday, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, said the Israel military’s incursions into Palestinian cities, villages, and camps, the continued storming of al-Aqsa Mosque and the Ibrahimi Mosque, and the attempt to change the status quo of these holy sites, is a declaration of an all-out war against the Palestinian people and their leadership.
“The continuation of this reckless and irresponsible policy has created an atmosphere of increased tension that would explode the situation, which we have long warned about it,” he said.
The spokesman went on to say that “the occupying Israeli regime should realize that this policy will not bring security and stability, but will rather push matters into a dangerous situation, stressing that the Palestinian people will in no way accept the continuation of the occupation.”
Abu Rudeineh also noted that Mahmoud Abbas is following closely the siege of Nablus, the attacks on other cities and villages, as well as the killing of children, adding that he has warned everyone against the consequences of this Israeli policy.
On October 9, an Israeli soldier was killed while two others were injured in a shooting attack at the Shuafat refugee camp checkpoint in East al-Quds.
Two days later, a second shooting operation targeted and killed another Israeli soldier near the Shavei Shomron settlement in Nablus.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Nablus have been trapped in the Shuafat refugee camp and nearby towns by Israeli forces since October 11 amid an ongoing search for the shooter that killed an Israeli soldier.
Since the beginning of the Israeli blockade, Palestinians have been unable to leave to receive necessary health treatments, and many basic supplies like flour are running low. Education within the camp has been suspended as well.
Israeli forces have recently been conducting overnight raids and killings in the northern occupied West Bank, mainly in the cities of Jenin and Nablus, where new groups of Palestinian resistance fighters have been formed.
The Palestinian health ministry says at least 171 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the illegally occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip since the beginning of the year, including 51 Palestinians during Israel’s three-day assault on Gaza in August.