Qatar lashes out at ‘brutal’ Israeli assault on Jenin camp as death toll mounts

[Instagram / Eye.on.Palestine]

At least 20 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) since the start of the year.

Qatar strongly condemned the “brutal” Israeli aggression on Jenin camp on Thursday, where at least nine Palestinians have been killed amid increased assaults in the West Bank.

In a statement, the Qatari foreign ministry slammed the deadly attacks as “an extension of the heinous and horrific crimes of the occupation against the defenseless Palestinian people.”

“The Israeli occupation has become more reassured than ever before of impunity and unaccountability, which encouraged it to commit more crimes and violations against the brotherly Palestinian people, to kill civilians including children, women and the elderly, and to attack hospitals and vital civilian facilities,” the statement read.

https://twitter.com/MofaQatar_EN/status/1618594733491884032

The Gulf state also held Israeli authorities responsible for the increased violence that it said will result in escalations against Palestinians. 

The statement also took aim at “unacceptable duplicity” in adhering to international laws, which it said “cannot be fragmented or applied in a particular place in the world, and ignored or bypassed in another”.

“The sanctity of people’s blood and their rights are equal, no matter how different the places are. It is no longer possible to understand the continuation of the occupation due to the selective policies in implementing the resolutions of international legitimacy and preferring power politics and imposing a fait accompli over the principles of justice and fairness,” the statement added.

Qatar also reiterated its stance in calling for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Israeli forces raided Jenin on Thursday morning in yet another brutal series of attacks on the Palestinian area. At least nine Palestinians have been killed and 20 others have been injured as a result of the violence, Palestine’s news agency (Wafa) reported.

Other attacks occured in Ramallah and the West Bank city of Qalqiliya, and north of Tulkarm.

The IOF carried out further attacks on Palestinian mourning those who have been martyred.

Palestinian Presidential Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the Israeli government is committing a massacre in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

President Mahmoud Abbas has also declared three days of national mourning.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on the United Nations and right organisations to protect Palestinians from bloodshed.

Since the start of the year, Israel has killed more than 20 Palestinians amid international concerns over further bloodshed.