PA: Israeli raid on Jenin ‘dangerous escalation with disregard for US position’

The Palestinian Authority has condemned Israel’s raid of the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Monday in which five Palestinians were killed on the spot, and 91 others were wounded. Twenty were left in a critical condition, and one has since died of his injuries.

The PA Foreign Ministry said that Israel’s use of an Apache helicopter in the raid was a dangerous escalation with disregard for the US position, which calls for an end to all unilateral measures. “The aggression against Jenin… will drag the whole region into more bloodshed,” said the ministry. “We call on the international community to intervene immediately and urgently to stop Israel’s massive military campaigns against the undefended Palestinian people under its illegal occupation.”

Israel, as the occupying power, and its officials must be held accountable, it added. “Israel’s deliberate killing of five Palestinians, including 15-year-old Ahmad Saqer; and the trapping, targeting and wounding of journalists, expose the occupier’s consistent criminal conduct, including the intentional targeting of civilians with full impunity. This culture of impunity it has thus far enjoyed must be fought.”

In conclusion, the ministry called on the UN Secretary General “immediately to add Israel to the list of parties that commit violations against and affecting children without any further delays or politicised excuses.” It also stressed that the International Criminal Court Prosecutor “must uphold his mandate and actively seek necessary evidence to hold Israeli officials accountable for their ongoing, systemic and widespread crimes.”

READ: Israel snipers targeted journalists during Jenin raid