Hamas: Huwara Rampage Was ‘Declaration of War’
The rampage by Israeli settlers through the Palestinian village on Huwara on Sunday night was a “declaration of war,” a Hamas official said Tuesday, calling it an attack carried out with the backing of the Israel Defense Forces.
“We, on our part as Palestinians, cannot in any way accept this equation, and we cannot raise the white flag or accept that the enemy harms the Palestinian people,” the Jerusalem Post quoted Suhai al-Hindi as saying.
“The results of the Aqaba Summit are more killing, blood, and destruction for our Palestinian people,” Hindi reportedly told Palestinian news outlet Al-Watan Voice, referring to Sunday’s emergency gathering of Israeli, Palestinian Authority and American officials in the Jordanian city in an attempt to calm the current deadly upswing in violence.
The settlers’ rampage came hours after two Israeli brothers from the nearby settlement of Har Bracha were shot dead in their car as they were stuck in a traffic jam in Huwara.
The IDF says it is treating the riots, which saw settlers set fire to property and attack local residents, as a terror attack.
Even so, the Israel Police said Tuesday that all of the suspects detained over their alleged involvement in the riot had been released.
