RAMALLAH, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Mustafa Barghouthi, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, has warned that the ongoing Israeli operation in Qalandia represents a dangerous escalation and a fresh attempt to forcibly displace and ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Jerusalem and the West Bank.
In a statement on Thursday, Barghouthi accused the Israeli occupation government and its army of using deceptive and sanitized language to describe their operation in Qalandia refugee camp, stressing that the Qalandia events should be recognized as “large-scale aggression.”
“When they speak of a ‘military operation,’ that term usually implies an engagement against an army or armed forces. What is happening in Qalandia camp is not a military operation, but repression and abuse targeting defenseless civilians with no means to protect themselves,” Barghouthi said.
Barghouthi emphasized that labeling the Qalandia raid a “military operation” falsely implies a two‑sided battle, while in fact it is a unilateral attack on unarmed civilians.
“Second, describing the camp as ‘terrorist’ is both absurd and reprehensible. How can Palestinians be accused of terrorism when the real terrorism is being practiced by armed settlers rampaging across the West Bank?” Barghouthi added.
Barghouthi explained that the Israeli aggression in Qalandia camp involved mass home demolition under the pretext of lacking permits despite the fact that the occupation authority does not grant permits in the first place, alongside a wide arrest campaign and a direct attack on the UNRWA training institute near the camp.
