Israel's 'fanatical' government to blame for Gaza escalation, says Palestinian envoy to UK

Palestinian ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot blamed Israel's "racist" and "fanatical" government on Wednesday for a deadly military escalation in Gaza.

Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 21 Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave since Tuesday, with fighters there returning rocket fire.

Zomlot pointed the finger at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in comments made before reports emerged of a possible ceasefire mediated by Egypt.

"[The] blame is squarely with Netanyahu and his racist, fanatical government," the Palestinian Authority envoy told The New Arab.

"It is with them [being bent] on war, on spilling more blood for purely domestic reasons. This was unprovoked. The escalation is primarily an Israeli interest because Netanyahu is in trouble.

"He wants to export his crisis and he always finds it easy to do so… by the blood of our children, of our women, of our civilians in Gaza, in Jerusalem, in the West Bank and elsewhere."

Palestinian ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pushing his problems onto Gaza, amid a deadly escalation that has so far killed more than 20 Palestinians.

🎥:@Reemkhabbazy
✍: @NickGMcAlpin #Gaza_under_attack pic.twitter.com/YoGgiht9bk

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) May 10, 2023

The international community's "deafening silence" has made it easy for Netanyahu and successive Israeli governments to continue committing "war crimes and crimes against humanity" against the Palestinian people, Zomlot added.

"For a long time now, the international community has decided to put Israel above the law; to continue giving Israel that culture of impunity; to continue employing double standards and selectivity," he said.

The latest escalation in Gaza follows previous tensions over hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan's death in Israeli detention last week.

The incident prompted an exchange of fire in the strip between the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) armed group and Israel before a truce was reached.

On Tuesday, Israeli bombing killed 15 Palestinians, including four children and three senior PIJ leaders.

The far-right Jewish Power party, headed by radical National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, called off a boycott of the Israeli coalition government on the same day.

The party said: "Following the adoption of our position and a transition from containment to attack and targeted assassinations of Islamic Jihad leaders, we will return to vote with the government."

It comes amid a deadly year for Palestinians, with more than 130 killed so far by Israeli forces and settlers.