By Awad Rajoub
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Sunday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to inflame the situation in occupied East Jerusalem to save his political career.
Netanyahu is trying to "thwart the formation of the so-called government of ‘change’ in Israel by blowing up the situation in Jerusalem and escalating the aggression against its holy sites and citizens," the ministry said in a statement.
On Sunday, Israeli police detained Palestinian activist Muna al-Kurd in a raid on her home in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Her brother also turned himself in to police, hours after the raid.
This came as far-right Israeli groups are planning a flag march on Thursday through the Old City's Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem, a move that is expected to spark tensions with the Palestinians.
The ministry said Netanyahu seeks to underline the next Israeli government by creating tension in East Jerusalem and triggering strong reactions from the Palestinians and across the region.
It also warned against “undermining international and regional efforts aimed at consolidating the cease-fire and stopping the continuous aggression against” Palestinians.
On Wednesday, Israeli opposition leader tasked with forming a new government, Yair Lapid, managed to accomplish the task, a move that could bring an end to Netanyahu’s premiership.
In April, an Israeli court ruled to evict eight Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in favor of settlement groups, triggering tension across the Palestinian territories, including an 11-day Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip that killed 289 Palestinians and injured thousands. Thirteen Israelis were also killed by Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza.
*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara
