Israel seeks to drag Mideast region into violence: Palestine

RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Sunday accused Israel of seeking to drag the Middle East region into violence, shortly after the death of two Palestinians by Israeli army fire.

Two people were killed when Israeli forces raided the Nour Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem city in the West Bank early Sunday, according to the Health Ministry.

Also, hundreds of Israeli settlers forced their way into the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem to celebrate the Yom Kippur holiday, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Israel is waging "a continuous war against the Palestinian people and their capabilities,” PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement.

“The occupation is striving to drag the region into violence and escalation through its continued aggression, as well as through calls by Jewish extremists to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he added.

Rawhi Fattouh, head of the Palestinian National Council, the highest decision-making body of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), condemned the killing of two Palestinians by Israeli forces as a "heinous crime."

"This criminal policy will lead to explode the situation and fuel tension and instability," Fattouh added in a statement.

Palestinian group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, called on the Arab and Islamic world to act to halt what it called a “religious war” against the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third-holiest site. Jews, for their part, call the area the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two ancient Jewish temples.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank in recent months amid repeated Israeli raids into Palestinian towns.

More than 230 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the start of this year, according to the Health Ministry. At least 35 Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian attacks during the same period, the highest Israeli toll since 2005.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar