Attack on car carrying Hamas members in Gaza
Photo: AP
Abbas' office: Escalation casts doubt on Israel's intentions regarding peace
Spokesman for Palestinian president says ‘Israel’s assassination of 13 civilians in one day, including innocent children, is a massacre which cannot be justified’; calls for international community’s intervention
A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday condemned "the Israeli escalation,
the killing crimes and the assassinations against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Rocket Launchers Targeted
Associated Press
Israeli forces target Qassam rocket launchers in Gaza Strip, two children killed in crossfire. IDF: Anyone who is next to a launching cell is in danger
"The assassination of 13 civilians in one day, including innocent children, is a massacre which cannot be justified. This escalation casts doubt on Israel's real intentions regarding the peace process, which is first of all expressed in halting all violent activities, attacks and assassinations," the spokesman said in a statement.
He said the peace process could not advance and bring results as long as Israel “continues with this policy”, adding that “the occupation regime and its army are fully responsible for the escalation and the shedding of innocent people’s blood in order to provoke retaliation and provide the Israeli occupation army with an excuse to commit more crimes.”
The spokesman also called on the international community to intervene and “bring an end to Israel’s attacks against the Palestinians”.
Among those killed by Israeli forces operating in Gaza and the West Bank since Tuesday were members of Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, as well as two children who were killed during an attack by IDF ground forces on rocket launchers in the northern Strip.
