CAIRO: Israel’s large-scale military operation against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has drawn widespread condemnation.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit denounced what he termed as the aggressive military operation in the West Bank, which has claimed the lives of more than 11 Palestinians. Israel has also imposed a sweeping siege on major cities and several large areas.
Gamal Roshdy, spokesperson for the secretary-general, said the “raids, brutal assaults and killings perpetrated by Israel in the cities of the northern West Bank, coupled with the destruction of infrastructure and the siege of hospitals, represent a dangerous escalation aimed at subjugating the Palestinian people, dismantling the remnants of existing agreements, and re-annexing Palestinian territories in pursuit of the extreme right’s agenda.”
He added the alarming development could not “be dissociated from the dangerous — and wholly unacceptable — statements made by extremist ministers within the Israeli government concerning the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Roshdy quoted Aboul Gheit as stating that Israel was “committing genocide against Palestinians everywhere.”
The Israeli operation in the West Bank is entirely unrelated to the events of Oct. 7, he added.
He said: “(Israel’s) true aim is to render Palestinian lives unbearable, whether in the West Bank or the occupied Gaza Strip, through ongoing intimidation, bloodshed and the implementation of displacement plans, effectively seeking to liquidate the Palestinian cause.”
Aboul Gheit emphasized that the international community could not afford to stand idly by in the face of this escalation, which is pushing the region to the brink of catastrophe and could lead to a widespread explosion of violence.
He said the US had failed to exert the necessary pressure on Israel, succumbing to the procrastination of its leaders who, he added, had no real intention of reaching an agreement to end the conflict.
Aboul Gheit held Washington responsible for “enabling this escalating Israeli arrogance in the region and demanded that it take a clear stance on the recent Israeli military operation in the West Bank.”
Egypt also condemned Israeli raids against a number of cities in the northern West Bank, namely Jenin, Tulkarm, and Tubas.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates warned of the dangers of ongoing Israeli operations and the deliberate targeting of more Palestinian civilians,
This activity, along with the continued attacks on the Gaza Strip and the violation of holy sites in East Jerusalem, further complicated the situation and indicated Israeli insistence on escalation rather than the desire for de-escalation, the ministry statement said.
Egypt said Israeli aggression against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank cities was “an entrenchment of the systematic violation of international law, international humanitarian law, and the four Geneva Conventions on the protection of the rights of peoples under occupation, and intransigence regarding the policy of escalation and expanding the scope of confrontations within the Palestinian territories.”
