The Palestinian leadership said on Saturday that it holds the “Israeli occupation government fully responsible for the dangerous escalation,” following two terrorist attacks in Jerusalem over the weekend.
The Palestinian Authority issued the statement after an emergency leadership meeting on Saturday led by P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas, official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
The P.A. blamed Israel for the deaths of “31 martyrs” this month, ongoing “colonial settlement practices,” house demolitions, land annexation, arrests, “ethnic cleansing and apartheid,” the “desecration” of Islamic and Christian holy sites and the “storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The Palestinian leadership said it salutes the “Palestinian people” for its “peaceful popular resistance,” according to the report.
Seven people were killed and several others wounded in a terrorist shooting attack on Friday at a synagogue in Jerusalem’s Neve Yaakov neighborhood.
The Palestinian assailant was shot dead after he opened fire on officers while trying to flee on foot, according to Israeli police.
A day after that deadly shooting, a Palestinian terrorist shot an Israeli father and son near the entrance to the City of David National Park adjacent to Jerusalem’s Old City on Saturday morning. The victims were taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in serious but stable condition.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Saturday night to respond quickly and decisively to the two terrorist attacks.
U.S. President Joe Biden phoned Netanyahu on Friday night to condemn the “horrific” Palestinian terrorist attack at the synagogue.
Other countries also condemned the attack.
