The Diplomat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement yesterday expressing the Spanish government’s rejection of the new escalation of violence in the Middle East, which on Monday left five people dead and more than ninety injured in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
The Spanish statement, which follows another issued in the same vein just over a month ago after clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza, expressed “regret at the high number” of victims on Monday when the Israeli army raided the refugee camp, the first in the West Bank since 2005.
The Israelis were trying to arrest suspected members of Palestinian armed militias and also used helicopters. Heavy gunfire resulted in the death of six Palestinians, including a 15-year-old boy, and the wounding of 90 others, some of whom are in serious condition. In addition, seven Israeli military personnel were wounded.
In addition, on Monday afternoon, another young Palestinian was killed in a clash with the Israeli army in Husan, a town located nine kilometres from the West Bank city of Bethlehem. He was a member of Islamic Jihad, the armed group said in a statement.
The Israeli army said in a statement that “a suspect threw Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers carrying out routine activities” in Husan, and “the soldiers responded with live fire”.
In the communiqué, the Spanish government “reiterates its firm condemnation of terrorism, while recalling that the exercise of legitimate self-defence by Israel must be proportional and in accordance with international law”.
“The parties must avoid actions that could lead to an escalation of violence and seek solutions within the framework of the recent communiqués of Aqaba and Charm El Chej,” the note adds.
The Spanish government insists that “only the materialisation of the two-state solution will make it possible to respond to the legitimate national aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis and create the framework for a just and lasting peace”.
Since the beginning of the year, at least 166 Palestinians, 21 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian have been killed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli and Palestinian sources.
