Palestinian and US leaders blame each other for violence

Palestinian officials have blamed the US Middle East peace plan which was unveiled last week for a surge in violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

At least four Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops in West Bank clashes in recent days, and an Arab driver rammed his car into a group of soldiers in Jerusalem on Thursday, injuring 12of them. An Israeli police officer and a soldier were wounded in two other shooting attacks, prompting Israeli security forces to go on heightened alert, sending reinforcements to the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said that the "deal of the century" had "created this atmosphere of escalation and tension by trying to impose fake facts on the ground".

In response, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu accused the Palestinian leader of incitement to violence against Israel.

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“This won’t help you [Abbas]. Not the stabbings, not the car rammings, not the sniping attacks, and not the incitement...We will do everything necessary to guard our security, secure our borders, and guarantee our future. We will do this with you or without you.”

His comments came after threats from Mr Abbas to end security co-operation with Israel.

Israeli sovereignty

Palestinians rejected the US peace plan as it hands over 30 per cent of the West Bank to Israel, leaves almost all of Jerusalem under full Israeli sovereignty and bars any Palestinian refugees from returning to Israel.

Initial Palestinian reaction was mild and limited to a few demonstrations, but a spate of incidents this week led to Israeli fears that the situation was spiralling out of control.

There have also been almost daily exchanges along the Gaza border over the past week, with militants firing rockets and sending incendiary balloons into southern Israel and Israeli aircraft hitting Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets across the Strip.

Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat rejected comments made by US president Donald Trump's adviser Jared Kushner, an architect of the peace plan, who blamed Mr Abbas for the spike in attacks.

“The main reason for the violence is the Israeli occupation and the colonialist plan formulated by Kushner, but Kushner blames president Abbas because he thinks that the very existence of the Palestinians and of international law is the problem,” Mr Erekat said.

Resistance

Hamas spokesman in Gaza Hazem Kassem said that the resistance begun by the Palestinian people throughout the West Bank was not a transient matter. He said that the popular reaction to the US plan would be severe.

It remains to be seen how the violence will impact on the Israeli election on March 2nd. Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White party, accused Mr Netanyahu of losing control.