Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that Palestinians have the right to self-defence against the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and against Israeli settlers. This was reported by the WAFA news agency.
WAFA reports that the Palestinian president held an emergency meeting amid the conflict. According to the agency, the meeting was attended by a number of civilian officials and security personnel.
“President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas held an emergency leadership meeting attended by a number of civilian officials and security chiefs,” WAFA reports.
The agency notes that Mahmoud Abbas “stressed the right of the Palestinian people to defend themselves against settler terrorism and Israeli troops.” In addition, the Palestinian President instructed to “provide everything that is necessary to strengthen the resilience of the Palestinian people”.
Recall, earlier Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant accused Hamas (“Islamic Resistance Movement”) of starting a war. A little later in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reported the beginning of a “counter-terrorist operation” against Hamas. In turn, the commander of the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement, the Al-Qassam Brigade, Mohammed Al-Deif, announced the launch of an operation against Israel. Later, in an address to the nation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu said that Israel was at war.