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AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warned that Israeli "illegal" actions in the West Bank are pushing the occupied territory to the brink of explosion.
In a post on X platform, Safadi wrote, “The Israeli government is pushing the West Bank towards explosion. Its blatant violations of the historical and legal status quo at Jerusalem’s Holy Sites are illegal and dangerous provocations.”
Safadi also warned against the consequences of the Israeli measures, saying “they are pushing the region towards another disastrous conflcit that will reverberate beyond the occupied Palestinian Territories.”
He also called on the international community to “act effectively and quickly against these Israeli measures before it is too late.”
The minister’s warning came amid rising violence in the West Bank with the Israeli far-right government threatening of a large-scale military operation in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the establishment of new settler outposts in the occupied West Bank on Friday, in a retaliatory move after a confrontation reportedly left two Israelis and four Palestinians dead.
Friday's violence erupted near the settlement of Havat Gilad and the neighbouring Palestinian village of Tell, in territory occupied by Israel since 1967, AFP reported.
Netanyahu announced a series of steps including raids in Palestinian villages suspected of hosting militants and "accelerating the legalisation of farm outposts and establishment of new ones" in the West Bank.
All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, while outposts are small settlements established usually without government approval and therefore illegal under Israeli law.
They are usually on hilltops, often composed of a few mobile homes set up overnight by small groups of settlers, with the aim of eventually being recognised as a proper settlement, according to AFP.
According to Walid Zidan, head of the Tell village council, Friday's clashes began when a group of about 20 settlers entered the village.
"Villagers came out to defend their homes and property. Clashes and physical altercations broke out between the residents and the settlers," Zidan told AFP.
"Israeli soldiers were present and together with the settlers began opening fire ... it was the settlers who stormed the village, with the intention of killing, vandalising and setting property on fire."
