The Palestinian Authority accused Israel of generating an atmosphere conducive to violence and inciting against P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas, following a series of deadly terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria in recent days.
In a statement issued shortly after Palestinian gunmen killed two Israelis and seriously wounded two others at a Samaria bus stop on Thursday, Abbas condemned the violence, but criticized both the attacks and Israel’s response.
“This atmosphere created by the frequent Israeli raids of the cities and the incitement against the president [Abbas] and the absence of peace on the horizon is what lead to this spate of violence, which we condemn and reject. Both peoples are paying the price,‚ Abbas’s office said in a statement.
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah called on the international community “to immediately stop the Israeli aggression. The Palestinian land is our dream and legitimate right, and it must be defended against settlements and Israeli invasions.”
Munir Jaghoub, a spokesman for Abbas’s Fatah movement, said, “Israel needs to understand that cold-blooded assassinations, as carried out by the occupation forces, will provoke a harsh response. The Palestinians will not sit idly by as our sons are murdered in cold blood.”
Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, Hamas warned that additional terrorist attacks were in the works, predicting that they will “set the West Bank on fire.”
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh said “the coming generations will be educated in the light of the torches” of the terrorists behind two recent attacks in Samaria.
The Hamas statement came hours before a Palestinian terrorist infiltrated the Jewish settlement of Beit El and seriously wounded a soldier, stabbing him and pounding him with a rock.
On Sunday, seven Israelis were wounded in a separate shooting attack at a bus stop near the Jewish settlement of Ofra, including a pregnant woman whose baby died after being delivered by emergency Caesarean section following the attack.
Another shooting rampage at a factory in the Barkan Industrial Park near Ariel in October killed two people and seriously injured a third.
Haniyeh’s statement came as Hamas was set to mark 31 years to the organization’s founding on Dec. 15.
