Jul 5. 2023
MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – The governments of Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, in a joint statement, called for an immediate end to hostilities in Palestine and for prevention of an escalation of violence.
Israel began its largest air-and-ground offensive in the West Bank in years early on Monday. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) aircraft launched more than 10 strikes at what it described as “terrorist infrastructure” in the Jenin refugee camp. The Israeli military said it had seized an improvised missile launcher, weapons, and ammunition.
“The governments of Argentina, Brazil and Mexico have learned with dismay of a new large-scale Israeli military intrusion into the city of Jenin in the Palestinian West Bank… express their sincere condolences to the families of those killed and urge all sides involved to immediately cease hostilities to prevent the escalation of a spiral of violence leading to an increase in the number of civilian casualties, displacement of the population and destruction of urban infrastructure in Jenin,” according to the statement distributed by the Mexican Foreign Ministry.
The three Latin American countries condemned terrorism in all its manifestations, expressed solidarity with the families of the victims in Israel, and called for respect for international law, international humanitarian law and the two-state solution in which Palestine and Israel coexist in peace and security within a mutually agreed upon and internationally recognized borders.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said Tuesday 12 people, including five children, had been killed during Israel’s operation, and 140 had been injured, with 30 civilians in serious condition.
The IDF also tweeted that a non-commissioned Israeli officer has been killed during the operation in the Jenin Camp, adding that the military “sends its heartfelt condolences to the family and will continue to support them.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday the IDF ended their counter-terrorism operation in the West Bank town of Jenin. The announcement was made during his visit to the Salem checkpoint near Jenin, with the participation of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Netanyahu vowed to “not allow Jenin to go back to being a hotbed of terror.”
