Palestinian Authority holds Israel "fully responsible" for violence in West Bank, east Jerusalem

The Palestinian Authority has held Israel entirely responsible for the escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, following a massacre where Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians in Jenin on Thursday.

The deadly massacre was followed by a shooting by a Palestinian outside a synagogue in the settlement of Neve Yaacov in occupied east Jerusalem, which killed seven Israelis, and a second shooting by a Palestinian boy in Jerusalem which wounded two Israelis.

The PA, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, accused Israel of not committing to peace efforts and violating international law, reported the Palestinian Wafa agency.

Following a meeting at the Presidential Headquarters in Ramallah, the Palestinian leadership condemned Israel over its deadly raids and detentions in Palestinian cities, its vandalisng of Muslim and Christian holy sites, and its home demolitions, according to Palestinian media.

They said such policies will only lead to further escalations in violence, and a deterioration of peace and stability in the region.

In a statement, the Palestinian Authority said: "The Palestinian leadership holds the Israeli occupation government fully responsible for the dangerous escalation that the situation has reached due to its crimes, which amounted to 31 martyrs during the current month".

Nine Palestinians including 61-year-old Majeda Obeid, who lived metres away from a house targeted by the Israeli forces were killed in the Jenin refugee camp on Thursday.

In a separate incident, Israeli forces killed a 10th Palestinian, Yousef Muheisen, who hailed from al-Ram, making Thursday one of the bloodiest days in the occupied West Bank in recent years.

More Palestinians killed in first three weeks of this year than the entire first three months of 2022 (which turned to be the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since 2005)

SLAUGHTERHOUSE. pic.twitter.com/AcL5hQMDlL

— Mariam Barghouti مريم البرغوثي (@MariamBarghouti) January 26, 2023

Israeli authorities then proceeded to bomb the besieged Gaza Strip on Friday morning, causing the destruction of several properties. No injuries were reported.

The Palestinian Authority urged the international community and the US administration to pressure Israel to halt its deadly campaign in the occupied territories.

It also said it will continue to work with the Arab and international community in order to "provide support, backing, and international protection, in order for the Palestinian people to achieve their full legitimate rights".

"The Palestinian leadership salutes our Palestinian people in all places of their presence for their steadfastness, peaceful popular resistance, and their adherence to their legitimate national rights and to the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of our Palestinian people, the leader of our struggle for freedom and independence," a statement from the PA said.

Rights groups, including Amnesty International, said Israel had institutionalised "systematic" abuse against Palestinians on a level amounting to the "crime of apartheid".