The Palestinian Government denounces the “invasion” of the Jenin camp by the Israeli Army

Shtayé says that “it is the Palestinian people who have the right to self-defense”, a right that “does not have an occupying power”

July 5 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Palestinian prime minister, Mohamad Shtayé, has denounced the “military invasion” of the West Bank city of Jenin (north) and has stressed that “it is the Palestinian people who have the right to self-defense”, a right that “does not have a power occupant”.

“Israel is internationally recognized as the occupying power of our land and our people,” he said in a message posted on his account on the social network Twitter after the operation, Israel’s largest in the West Bank since the end of the Second Intifada nearly two decades ago.

It has also stressed that “the military invasion of the Jenin refugee camp, where nearly 12,000 Palestinians reside in less than half a square kilometer, must be condemned for its use of force to destroy the camp’s infrastructure, facilities and homes and for killing , arrest and displace innocent people”.

Along these lines, the secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hussein al-Sheikh, said that the visit made on Tuesday by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to the surroundings of Jenin “is a shows clearly that the military campaign of the occupation has great political dimensions and is not a security process”.

“It is framed in the context mentioned by Netanyahu that the dream of a Palestinian state must be eliminated through the weakening of the Palestinian Authority at a minimum and its collapse at a maximum,” Al Sheikh said in a message on Twitter.

The operation has resulted in twelve Palestinian deaths and more than one hundred wounded, according to the latest balance of the Palestinian Ministry of Health. In addition, the Israeli Army has confirmed the death of a soldier late on Tuesday, at the same time that it has stressed that there are no civilians among the Palestinians killed in the operation.

Netanyahu defended on Tuesday the need to “complete the mission” in the area with the aim of “eradicating terrorism” from Palestinian militias. “We will not allow Jenin to become a bastion of terrorism again,” said ‘Bibi’, after the Israeli authorities indicated that 50 attacks have been perpetrated from the camp so far this year.

For his part, the secretary general of the non-governmental organization Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Jan Egeland, said that “Israel’s disproportionate attack on Jenin comes after months of increased violence and tension.” “Israel continues to build and expand settlements, illegal under international law, moving more settlers to the surroundings of Palestinian communities. Violent extremism among settlers enjoys total impunity,” he denounced.

In this sense, he pointed out that “the air strikes against the overcrowded Jenin refugee camp could cause a large number of civilian victims” and added that “the disproportionate operation will increase human suffering and fuel new tensions that could get completely out of control.” “.

“The international community must demand that Israel comply with its obligations under International Law, including limiting the use of legal force, and holding accountable those who violate the law,” Egeland stressed in a series of messages posted on the aforementioned social network. .

Increased tensions in recent months have resulted in the deaths of more than 185 Palestinians and 25 Israelis, amid fears of a widespread outbreak of violence. Tensions have spiked especially since June 19, when an Israeli army raid in Jenin left seven Palestinians dead — including two minors — and more than 90 wounded. Just a day later, four Israelis were killed in an attack near the Eli settlement.

In this context, hundreds of settlers carried out attacks against West Bank towns, events that resulted in the death of a Palestinian, while the Israeli Army killed three Palestinians –members of Islamic Jihad and the armed wing of Al Fatah– in a drone strike near Jenin.