Palestinian premier says international support for Israel is 'license for more killing'

Mohammed Shtayyeh calls for 'united front' against Israeli attacks, plans for displacement and ground invasion

by Samar L. Kasim

RAMALLAH, Palestine 

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh on Sunday said international support for Israel, which has continued its bombardment on the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas, is a “license for further killing and destruction.”

Shtayyeh, in a meeting with ambassadors, representatives and envoys of different countries in Ramallah, called on the international community and brotherly countries to create a "unified front to stop aggression against our people, and plans for displacement and ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, and to pressure Israel to allow the entry of medical and relief aid," according to his office.

He stressed "the need to create and launch an effective political path in order to end the occupation, achieve a two-state solution, and establish a Palestinian state."

Shtayyeh said stopping the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, and allowing the entry of the medical and relief aid are his top priorities.

"Successive governments in Israel have followed a strategy of systematic destruction to the possibility of a two-state solution," he said, adding that the government led by Benjamin Netanyahu is pursuing a “divide and rule policy by attempting to separate Gaza from the Palestinian national project.”

“In addition to the aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip, we in the West Bank are subject to terrorism from Israel's army and settlers. There are calls to encourage settlers to take up arms," he said.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said Israeli officials “deliberately ignore the Palestinian issue and underestimate international calls for accelerating the resolution process.”

The ministry in a statement said Israeli officials “continue beating the drums of a destructive war ... which means committing more crimes.”