Israel drags Mideast region into violence: Palestine

By Awad al-Rujoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – The Palestinian Authority (PA) warned Wednesday that the Israeli measures, including settler intrusions into East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, drag the Middle East region into violence.

“The Israeli occupation authorities are dragging the region into violence, escalation, tension and instability,” PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in statements carried by state news agency Wafa.

Hundreds of Israelis on Wednesday forced their way into the Al-Aqsa complex, with some settlers raising Israeli flags inside the flashpoint complex before being stopped by the Israeli police and taken out the site.

The settler intrusions came as Israel is commemorating its national day, which marks the country’s creation on the rubble of Palestine. This day is called by the Palestinians as “Nakba”, or Catastrophe.

Abu Rudeineh said that the setter intrusions and raising Israeli flags inside Al-Aqsa complex “show that the Israeli government is looking for ways to ignite the situation.”

“The siege imposed on Palestinian towns in the West Bank and raids into cities and refugee camps amount to a collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” he added.

The Palestinian spokesman called on the US administration to immediately intervene "to stop these dangerous practices, and to put pressure on Israel to stop all its unilateral measures."

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank in recent months amid repeated Israeli raids into Palestinian towns.

According to Palestinian figures, more than 100 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the start of this year. Sixteen Israelis have also been killed in separate attacks during the same period.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar