RAMALLAH, Palestine

Palestine warned Monday of grave consequences from Israeli incitement to move its genocidal war from Gaza to the West Bank in preparation for annexing the occupied territory.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “deliberately preserving his coalition through privileges he offers to his partners in the extreme right at the expense of the West Bank.”

"Netanyahu is using the cycle of violence as a political tool to remain in power and prolong the coalition at the expense of achieving calm and a political solution to the conflict that guarantees the security and stability of the region,” it added in a statement.

The ministry called for an international action “to put an end to the abhorrent and prolonged occupation.”

On Sunday, Israeli Minister of Construction and Housing Yitzhak Goldknopf called for attracting one million illegal settlers to settle in the occupied West Bank.

He also called on Netanyahu to “seize the current opportunity to expand settlement construction in the West Bank.”

Tension has been running high across the West Bank due to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 46,600 people, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 847 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 6,700 injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala