Fattouh issued a statement denouncing the silence of the international community in the face of the attacks and massacres of innocent civilians committed by the Israeli Army and Police. The latest episode of which was the offensive against the city of Jenin and the neighboring refugee camp, where 12 Palestinians wer killed.

“We express our pride in the heroism, steadfastness and courage of our youth, who resisted in Jenin and its camp, as well as the solidarity shown in the rest of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,” he stressed. He also warned that the attacks ” will not be greeted with roses, nor will they weaken the determination and resistance of our compatriots”.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh spoke yesterday in similar terms, and warned that the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves against the new Israeli aggression. He also criticized the United States, without explicitly mentioning it, after the State Department’s statements in support of the military operation, considered the largest in the West Bank in years.

“To those who say that Israel has the right to defend itself, we say: the Israeli army is an army of occupation. It invaded a refugee camp, arrested and killed innocent people, and the Palestinian lands are occupied lands,” he stressed. “The Palestinian people have the right to self-defence,” he said.

Parties and movements such as Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine multiplied their calls for resistance in recent hours.

jrr/llp/oda/rob