CAIRO: Israeli settler attacks risk setting off an \u201cexplosion\u201d in the occupied West Bank, a senior Palestinian leader told AFP, while urging that the response remain peaceful.<\/p>\n
Jibril Rajoub, the secretary general of the central committee of the Palestinian Authority\u2019s ruling Fatah faction, said he called for \u201cpeaceful confrontation\u201d as he took part in meetings in Cairo with other Palestinian movements including Gaza-based rival Hamas, which led the October 7, 2023 attacks against Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe terrorism carried out by the army and settlers, under the supervision of the Israeli government… is a prelude to a coming reaction and explosion,\u201d Rajoub told AFP in Cairo.<\/p>\n
But he said that a \u201cpeaceful, nonviolent struggle is a necessity and a strategic choice for all Palestinians.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBloodshed is no longer an acceptable option,\u201d he said, calling for \u201cpeaceful confrontation with the occupation, despite the crimes it commits.\u201d<\/p>\n
Settlers have carried out daily physical attacks, thefts and other attacks against Palestinians, with the violence intensifying in the run-up to October 27 elections, in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, governing with the fiercely pro-settlement far-right, is seeking a new mandate.<\/p>\n
Violence has picked up as extremist settlers seek to stop the Palestinian olive harvest, an annual season with cultural resonance for the community.<\/p>\n
More than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements, which are considered illegal under international law, surrounded by around three million Palestinians.<\/p>\n
The talks in Cairo came after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who has ruled since 2005, delayed elections slated to start next month until September 2027.<\/p>\n
Rajoub said the talks called for \u201cunified political representation\u201d with the principle of a \u201csingle authority\u201d and \u201conly one legitimate armed force.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamas took over Gaza in 2007, dividing the two Palestinian territories. Israel has vowed to obliterate Hamas after the October 7, 2023 attack, the deadliest day in Israel\u2019s history. The Hamas attack resulted in 1,221 deaths.<\/p>\n
At least 1,125 Palestinians have died in the West Bank since October 2023, mostly by the Israeli military, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.<\/p>\n
Settler attacks have killed 23 Palestinians in that timeframe, according to the United Nations.<\/p>\n
Palestinian attacks have killed at least 49 Israelis in the same period, according to Israeli figures.<\/p>\n
In Gaza, the Israeli offensive has killed 74,459 Palestinians since October 2023, according to figures under the health ministry run under Hamas. The United Nations generally considers the figures reliable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CAIRO: Israeli settler attacks risk setting off an \u201cexplosion\u201d in the occupied West Bank, a senior Palestinian leader…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":651326,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,197745,43,77],"class_list":["post-651325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-jibril-rajoub","tag-news","tag-west-bank"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=651325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/651326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=651325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=651325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=651325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}