Palestine slams Israeli attack on Nablus security HQ

RAMALLAH

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday decried an Israeli dawn attack on a Palestinian security headquarters in the West Bank city of Nablus.

A Palestinian security guard was wounded in the hand when Israeli forces opened fire on the headquarters in the city.

"Israel is seeking to create a state of security and political chaos with a view to creating an atmosphere to pass the U.S. peace plan, known as 'deal of the century'," the ministry said in a statement.

According to Nablus governor Ibrahim Ramadan, a group of Israeli soldiers targeted the headquarters by blockading the building and opening fire from three sides.

Based on leaks in the media, the "deal of the century" will call on the Palestinians to make major concessions to Israel regarding Jerusalem’s status and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in historical Palestine.

Palestinian towns and villages in the Israeli-occupied West Bank have been subjected to frequent assaults and acts of vandalism by Jewish settlers.

An estimated 640,000 Jewish settlers currently live on 196 settlements built with the Israeli government’s approval and more than 200 settler “outposts” built without its approval throughout the West Bank.

International law regards the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as "occupied territory" and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity there to be illegal.