Palestine ends contact with Israel amid tension in West Bank

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories - Palestine on Monday decided to stop all contacts, meetings and security coordination with the Israeli government in protest against the latter's brutal raids in the West Bank that had killed eight Palestinians and wounded 80 others.

The decision was made during an emergency meeting of the Palestinian leadership chaired by President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah, according to an official statement.

During the meeting, Abbas called on the Palestinians "to stand firm and steadfast, to unite and defend the land and sanctities," the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

The Palestinian leadership "renews its call for the international community to protect the Palestinian people in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip," the report added.

According to the official statement, the leadership decided to immediately go to the United Nations for implementing Security Council Resolution 2334 and other resolutions on protecting the Palestinians.

On Monday, the Israeli army, backed by armored vehicles, bulldozers, drones, and helicopters, waged a large-scale military attack against the northern West Bank city of Jenin and the refugee camps there.

At least eight Palestinians have been killed and 80 others injured in the raid, according to the latest figures released by the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Since January, 24 people, most of them Israelis, have been killed in a series of attacks carried out by Palestinians, and 180 Palestinians, including children and women, were killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers, according to official figures. - XINHUA