The Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affair, Nasser Al-Kidweh, speaking at a press conference held at his office in Ramallah on Wednesday, said that Israel must immediately halt its attacks against the Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip describing these attacks as ‘savage.’
Al-Kidweh attributed the escalation of events to a mistake made by Hamas.
‘This situation is a result of a tragic mistake Hamas made which Israel responded to,’ Al-Kidweh said. ‘When talking about a tragic mistake, we do not mean to blame or accuse anybody, but to learn from these mistakes,’ he added.
Al-Kidweh said this escalation must be ended adding that attacking Israeli civilians harms the Palestinian as well.
He also remarked that the Palestinian security forces must put to an end the state of lawlessness and to strike the groups that violate the law.
There is no need for large amounts of weapons in Palestine; said Al-Kidweh who also called for more dialogue among the various Palestinian factions especially in the areas that Israel withdrew from.
The Palestinian FM slammed the arrest of Hamas activists in the West Bank saying that the Palestinians ‘do not accept Israel to impose their formula for the elections, the Palestinian people alone decide on such internal issues.’
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Al-Kidweh rfused to disclose the names of the new diplomats he appointed as part of his restructuring of the diplomatic departments in the Ministry which was approved by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He said that before the names are disclosed, we must consult with the relative countries to which those diplomats will be dispatched.
A recent poll held by the University of Al-Najah in Nablus in the West Bank, showed that at least 54 percent of the Palestinians rejected the need to use weapons in solving problems.
