Jerusalem, February 18. Palestinian National Authority President Mahmud Abbas received a phone call from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday to discuss recent moves against the Palestinians that the Israeli government has taken, the official Palestinian News Agency reported. WAFA.
“Abas informed Blinken of the decision to appeal to the UN Security Council in the face of Israel’s insistence on violating the agreements”, through the construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, the demolitions of Palestinian family homes and military raids, WAFA said.
For his part, the American official “confirmed that he would contact the Israeli government to try to stop the unilateral Israeli actions on the ground”, added the same source.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has reached a peak in violence that has claimed 48 Palestinian lives and another 11 on the Israeli side so far in 2023 alone.
During a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories in late January, Blinken called for de-escalation as a prerequisite for working towards a two-state conflict resolution, with the ultimate goal of Israelis and Palestinians achieving “democracy, opportunity and dignity”. in equal measure.
However, he acknowledged that the horizon for Palestinians is currently “shrinking”, citing the expansion and legalization of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, demolitions and evictions of Palestinian homes by Israeli authorities, and disruptions to the status quo. in holy places for Muslims. .
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the most right-wing in Israel’s history, approved the regularization of nine Jewish settlements built in the occupied West Bank that did not have state permission.
The UN and most of the international community consider all Israeli settlements illegal, but the Jewish state has legalized many.
On the other hand, Israel routinely demolishes the homes of relatives of Palestinians who have committed attacks on Israelis and has recently approved the revocation of citizenship or permanent residency and subsequent deportation of Palestinians convicted of terrorism.
The Palestinian National Authority yesterday rejected what it sees as ‘collective punishment and crimes of ethnic cleansing’ by the Israeli government, warning that it will lead to ‘an endless spiral of violence that is difficult to control’.
The current wave of violence erupted in late March last year, when Israel launched its “Breaking the Wave” operation in response to a series of deadly attacks by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs.
This strategy consists of almost daily violent raids in the occupied West Bank, often triggering armed clashes with militants and leading to the death of Palestinians, including civilians.
Added to these raids and attacks are the attacks by Jewish settlers against the Palestinians and the sending of rockets from Gaza to Israel, to which the Jewish state often responds with bombardments. EFE
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