Erekat on Israeli Attacks in Gaza

CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR SAEB EREKAT “DEEPLY TROUBLED” BY ISRAELI ATTACKS IN GAZA, CALLS FOR “APPROPRIATE [INTERNATIONAL] RESPONSE”

Israel’s military raids in Gaza represent a massive escalation that undermine Palestinian efforts to form a government that could carry Palestinians and Israelis beyond the current political impasse, said Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat.

“Israel’s ongoing assault on the Palestinian people in Gaza is alarming,” said Erekat. “These attacks represent a massive escalation that is likely to lead us to more violence and more suffering – all at the expense of the peace and the stability this region needs.”

Since Wednesday, the Israeli military has killed more than 48 people and injured over 250, including scores of civilians, in the occupied Gaza Strip.

“Israel is committing nothing short of war crimes in Gaza, wantonly destroying Palestinian civilian infrastructure while killing and injuring civilians by the dozen,” said Erekat. “And it does so with complete and bewildering impunity.”

“The Israeli government must get over its self-ascribed exceptionalism, for it too is expected to abide by the basic rules of the international community,” Erekat said. “When the international community turns a blind eye to Israeli atrocities, as it has in recent days, it only aggravates the problem, and both Palestinians and Israelis ultimately suffer.”

“I urge members of the international community to take the appropriate response to Israel’s crimes in Gaza. Condemnation is the least one would expect under current circumstances,” Erekat concluded.