Ramallah: The Palestinian National Authority on Wednesday condemned the Hebron attack in which four Israelis, two men and two women, were shot dead.
Prime Minister Dr Salam Fayyad stressed that the operation was not in Palestinian national interests, particularly at a time when the direct negotiations with Israeli in Washington were about to resume.
In a statement, he said the operation contradicted the strategic framework of the Palestinian Authority, which aims to link both regional and international political resistance and push for the establishment of a future Palestinian state, with Occupied East Jerusalem as its capital.
"We condemn the operation and consider it totally against our national interests and our commitments,” he said, calling on the Palestinian people to denounce violence and support the public resistance against occupation and colony activities.
He vowed that such an operation would never reoccur, even though it took place in an area which is not under Palestinian jurisdiction, and added that the timing was particularly unfortunate given that it had negatively impacted on the efforts of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) to gain international support for the Palestinian cause.
"The operation was conducted in an area in which the Palestinian Authority does not have any security supervision and [which is] beyond our security responsibilities, but the Palestinian Authority vows to take all the necessary measures to ensure such operations will never be successful in the future,” he said.
“It is time for Israel to approve earlier demands by the Palestinian Authority to handle security responsibilities in all the areas.”
Dr Fayyad warned against violence and counter violence. “The Palestinian people, who had an earlier experience, know what exactly serves their higher national interests and what goes against those interests. And because of this particular reason, the Palestinians have joined forces to get rid of the occupation and the suffering, based on a formula of denouncing violence,” he said.
“This is the way. This is the only way to get rid of the occupation and the suffering. Taking advantage of the suffering of the Palestinians to serve regional and international agendas, has never, and will never, serve this nation’s interests.”
Meanwhile, Israeli colonists living in the West Bank colonies reacted angrily to news of the Hebron operation, rioting in the streets, attacking cars and sabotaging crops planted by Palestinian farmers.
Ghassan Daghlas, in charge of the file of colonisation in north areas of the West Bank, told how groups of settlers have been gathering at roads junctions and cross roads targeting Palestinian vehicles. As a result many Palestinians are now avoiding these areas.
