RAMALLAH/GAZA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Hamas on Tuesday condemned Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz's call to destroy another refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
In a statement, Hamas said Katz's call "to destroy a new camp in the West Bank and displace its residents" represented "a genocidal and criminal mentality."
The movement said Israel's ongoing operations across West Bank cities and refugee camps would not deter Palestinians from their "steadfastness, resistance and confrontation," and urged the international community to monitor Israeli actions and hold its leaders accountable.
Meanwhile, Palestinian National Council Chairman Rawhi Fattouh warned Tuesday that Israel's demolition of homes and structures across the West Bank is part of a settlement project aimed at annexation and the forced displacement of Palestinians.
In a press statement, Fattouh said the widespread demolitions over the past two days, displacing dozens of Palestinian families, reflected "a systematic policy of demographic cleansing" intended to impose "new colonial realities" in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Earlier in the day, Israeli authorities demolished two residential homes in the southern West Bank city of Hebron and another in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, citing lack of construction permits, according to Palestinian sources. The demolitions reportedly brought the number of homes razed over the past 24 hours to about 12.
Also on Tuesday, Katz said he had instructed the Israeli military to expand offensive activity in the West Bank and prepare to capture another Palestinian refugee camp and evacuate its residents, according to Israel's state-owned Kan TV News.
Katz said the operation would apply the same model used in the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps, where residents were evacuated, militant infrastructure dismantled, and Israeli forces permanently stationed, according to the report. ■
