The Palestinian presidency said Friday it had asked its foreign ministry and mission to the United Nations to seek an urgent Security Council meeting and measures to protect Palestinians amid what it described as a sharp escalation in settler and Israeli military attacks.
Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said 19 incidents involving settlers had been recorded since Friday morning, targeting farmers, olive pickers and their property. He said the attacks included burning vehicles and trees, uprooting olive trees, stealing livestock and crops, assaulting Palestinians and preventing them from reaching their land, WAFA reported.
The incidents were taking place during the olive harvest and threatened Palestinians’ livelihoods, Abu Rudeineh said, urging the Security Council to act to halt the attacks and ensure international protection for Palestinians.
He also accused Israeli forces of carrying out repeated raids on West Bank towns, villages and refugee camps, and of demolishing or damaging homes and using live fire against residents and farmers. He said Israeli forces’ protection of settlers encouraged further attacks.
The Palestinian presidency said the violence was part of a broader escalation, citing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip as well as killings, destruction and forced displacement. It blamed the Israeli government for what it called crimes and violations against Palestinians.
Abu Rudeineh said Israeli settlement activity and unilateral measures in the occupied Palestinian territories, including east Jerusalem, were illegal under international law. He said Palestinians remained committed to their right to an independent state on the borders that existed before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, with east Jerusalem as its capital.
