Israel carries out more extrajudicial executions in Gaza

Israel’s latest missile strikes on the besieged Gaza Strip have been described as “more extrajudicial executions” by a leading member of the PLO Executive Committee. Dr. Hanan Ashrawi said that this is the way in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “wants to destabilise the region, provoke the Palestinians and drag them into a violent confrontation”.

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In a press release, Dr. Ashrawi condemned Israel’s ongoing aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza, which has resulted in dozens of people being killed and wounded, including children. She said that this is a flagrant violation of international law and resolutions: “What is happening in Gaza is a blatant attempt to interfere in Palestinian domestic affairs to prevent national reconciliation and to boost the popularity of Netanyahu in the upcoming elections, as he escapes from his legal and political responsibilities at the cost of Palestinian blood.” The failure of Israel to provoke a military confrontation with Iran has pushed it to create a vicious cycle of violence in Palestine before the eyes and ears of the world, she added.

The veteran politician demanded that the international community, the UN Security Council and the Middle East Quartet should lift the political and legal impunity that Israel enjoys and intervene immediately to stop the killings and prevent further escalation. The world, said Ashrawi, must provide immediate protection for the Palestinian people, lift the unjust siege on the Gaza Strip, take serious measures to hold Israel accountable for its violations and end the occupation, giving the Palestinians their right to self-determination in their own land.