Since the beginning of the year, Israel has killed at least 73 Palestinians as the occupation increases its attacks on the West Bank.
Qatar has strongly condemned the Israeli Occupation Forces’ (IOF) raid of Jenin, West Bank, on Tuesday, where at least six Palestinians were killed.
In a statement, the Gulf state’s foreign ministry said it considered the latest storming of the Jenin camp “an extension” of the IOF’s “systematic crimes” against Palestinians.
“It considers this an extension of the Israeli forces’ continuous and systematic crimes against the Palestinian people and a flagrant violation of the resolutions of international legitimacy,” the statement read.
Qatar also warned of “an explosive situation in the Palestinian territories as a result of the Israeli escalation”, urging the international community to halt the occupation’s violence and hold Israel to account.
“The Ministry reiterates the firm position of the State of Qatar towards the justice of the Palestinian cause, the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people, and the establishment of its independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the statement added.
The IOF carried out yet another deadly raid in the occupied West Bank in Jenin, where at least 26 Palestinians were also wounded, per figures shared by Palestine’s health ministry.
The six Palestinians killed during the raid were aged between 22 to 49.
A correspondent from the Palestinian news agency (Wafa) said that the IOF had fired a missile at a house as Israeli vehicles were seen entering Jenin.
Since the beginning of the year, Israel has killed at least 73 Palestinians as the occupation increases its attacks on the West Bank.
Palestinian Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the latest raid is an “all-out war”.
“The crime committed by the occupation forces reaffirms the Israeli government’s intention to thwart all regional and international efforts aimed at stopping all unilateral actions, which the Israeli side insists on continuing,” Abu Rudeineh said.
The Palestinian foreign ministry also condemned the attack, saying “the very existence of the Palestinian people” is under threat.
“The very existence of the Palestinian people in their homeland is being threatened and requires urgent action in line with international law to hold Israeli government and military officials and settlers responsible for their crimes and to deter further violations,” the statement read.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has called on the United States and human rights organisations to intervene in the latest massacres and join in condemning the raids on Jenin.
Meanwhile, the US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Israel “has the legitimate right to defend its people” while calling for de-escalation on both sides.
“We continue to urge the parties to take immediate steps to prevent the further loss of life […] We’ve said this many times before, but we continue to believe that Israelis and Palestinians deserve equal measures of freedom, of security, of prosperity,” Price told the press.
The US, which pumps $3.8 billion into Israel, has repeatedly failed to hold its ally accountable.
The IOF has also been carrying out deadly attacks in the Palestinian town of Huwara, which was condemned by Qatar over the weekend.
On Tuesday, the Chairman of Qatar’s Gaza Reconstruction Committee Ambassador Mohammed Al Emadi held meetings in Ramallah and Jerusalem with several Palestinian and international officials.
According to Qatar’s state news agency (QNA), Al Emadi met with the Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein Al Sheikh.
Prior to his meeting with Al Sheikh, the Qatari envoy also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The meetings dealt with developments in Palestine, with further discussions scheduled to take place with officials from the United Nations, Hamas, and other Palestinian factions.
