Palestinians: Israel responsible for Jerusalem violence

In a statement, the PA leadership condemned the “incitement to kill Arabs by settlers and far-Right groups who are protected by the Israeli army and police.”

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Updated: APRIL 24, 2021 22:26
Israeli police officers clash with arabs outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on April 22, 2021. (photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
Israeli police officers clash with arabs outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on April 22, 2021.
(photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
The Palestinian Authority, Hamas and other Palestinian factions on Saturday held Israel fully responsible for the violence that erupted in Jerusalem over the past few days and called on the international community to put pressure on the Israeli government to stop its “provocations.”
In a statement, the PA leadership condemned the “incitement to kill Arabs by settlers and far-Right groups, who are protected by the Israeli army and police.”
The statement warned that “Jerusalem is a redline” and called on the international community to “provide protection for the residents of Jerusalem against the aggression of the settlers.”
The Israeli government, the statement added, is fully responsible for “this serious deterioration.”
PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh accused Israel of practicing “organized state terrorism to Judaize Jerusalem, impose fake realities, and harm Muslim and Christian holy sites.”
Shtayyeh praised the “heroic” actions of the Jerusalem Arabs who went out to “confront the settlers and occupation soldiers and foil their schemes.”
Several officials belonging to PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction also held Israel responsible for the violence and heaped praise on the residents who took to the streets to attack Israeli policemen and “settlers.”
“The Israeli government is responsible for the explosion of the situation in Jerusalem,” said Shadi Mtour, secretary-general of Fatah in Jerusalem.
Osama Qawasmeh, a Fatah spokesperson, said that the confrontation with Israel over Jerusalem will continue. He also praised the protesters who have attacked police officers and Jewish citizens in the past few days.
Qawasmeh called on the international community to intervene to “stop the Israeli aggression” and guarantee the right of the Jerusalem Arabs to participate in the upcoming Palestinian elections.
Abbas Zaki, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, the faction’s highest decision-making body, said that “our great people will triumph in the battle over Jerusalem.” He said that Fatah has always led the “popular war” against Israeli measures in the city.
Hamas, for its part, warned Israel against committing “foolish” actions that could “harm the people of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque.
Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said that Israel would bear the consequences of the “racist and provocative” actions of the policemen and “settlers” in Jerusalem.
Barhoum said that the Israeli military strikes on the Gaza Strip in response to the launching of rockets into Israeli territory, as well as its “violations” in Jerusalem, came in the context of its “comprehensive aggression on our people.”
A number of Palestinian groups, including the PLO’s Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Fatah’s al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades-Nidal Amoudi Division claimed responsibility for launching the rockets into Israel.
Hussam Badran, another Hamas official, said that the violence in Jerusalem “confirms that the policy of resistance in right.”
“We are witnessing a popular uprising which could pave the way for thwarting the schemes of the occupation and its hateful settlers,” Badran added.
Several Palestinian terror groups on Saturday called for the formation of a “unified national leadership” to confront Israeli practices and measures in Jerusalem and the West Bank. The call was made during a protest by representatives of the groups in Gaza City.
“We will defend Jerusalem with our blood, resistance, weapons and will,” said Khaled al-Batsh, a leader of the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the second-largest group after Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “What is happening in Jerusalem is a battle for sovereignty over the city.”


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