Palestinian leadership convenes emergency meeting amid escalating tensions

Shafaq News / President Mahmoud Abbas chaired an emergency leadership meeting on Saturday, which included several civilian and security officials, according to the official Palestinian news agency "WAFA".

Abbas emphasized the need to "provide protection for the Palestinian people" and affirmed the "right of the Palestinian people to defend themselves" against what he described as "settler terrorism."

This comes amidst the ongoing attack by Hamas on Israeli territories, involving armed infiltrators and the launching of thousands of rockets.

In a related context, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a press release, "We have long warned of the consequences of the political deadlock and the denial of the Palestinian people's legitimate right to determine their destiny and have their own state."

The statement also warned of "the consequences of daily provocations, attacks, ongoing settler terrorism, Israeli forces' incursions, and the violations of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy Christian and Islamic sites."

"Israel's disregard for signed agreements and non-compliance with international legitimacy decisions has led to the destruction of the peace process."

The statement considered the absence of "a solution to the Palestinian case after 75 years of suffering and displacement," along with "double standards in policy" and "the silence of the international community," as the reasons behind the escalating situation and the absence of peace and security in the region.

On another note, WAFA reported that the Palestinian Minister of Health, Mai Alkaila, announced a "state of emergency" in all Palestinian hospitals.

The minister instructed the ministry's warehouses and blood banks to "supply hospitals with the necessary medical supplies, medications, and blood units."

She further stated that "all hospitals in the West Bank are ready to receive the wounded from the Gaza Strip."