Halime Afra Aksoy
15 May 2021•Update: 15 May 2021
RAMALLAH, Palestine
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh late Friday demanded that the UN immediately stop Israel’s attacks in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian official news agency WAFA.
Shtayyeh condemned the “bloody massacre carried out by the occupying forces in West Bank and settlers’ racist attacks against Palestinian people in 1948 lands,” in a statement released by WAFA.
The prime minister said the crimes will be moved to the International Criminal Court in accordance with instructions by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
He called on the Middle East Quartet --Russia, US, UN and EU -- to open a serious political path that will lead to the end of the occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, whose capital is Jerusalem.
Palestine vs. Israel
Israeli forces in recent days have attacked Palestinians protesting in solidarity with residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem, who were evicted by an Israeli court.
The occupying forces also raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque during special night prayers during Ramadan.
The subsequent escalation of tensions resulted in airstrikes by Israel on Gaza, killing more than 120 Palestinians, including children and women, according to health officials. At least 920 others have been injured, in addition to heavy damage to residential buildings.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move never recognized by the international community.
*Writing by Merve Berker
