The Palestinian presidency and Hamas movement condemned on Monday the killing of two Palestinians by Israeli forces raiding a refugee camp in north Jerusalem to demolish a house of a detainee. In a statement published by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, spokesperson of the Palestinian Presidency Nabil Abu Rdeineh accused the Israeli government of insisting on the same policy of "killing, extra-judicial assassination and collective punishment against the Palestinian people and their properties against the international legitimacy and the international human laws." He reiterated the need for the international community, mainly the UN Security Council, to provide the Palestinian people with international protection, warning that the Israeli policies would spark a religious war that will reach everybody, including Europe and other areas. Palestinians announced a general strike on Monday mourning the death of two Palestinians: 28-year-old Ahmed Abu el-Aish and 21-year-old Laith Manasra. Angry protesters took part in the funeral Monday noon as the bodies of the two men were laid to their final rest in the Qalandia refugee camp. An Israeli army spokesperson said that Israeli forces entered the camp in order to demolish the home of detainee Muhammad Abu Shahin who is accused of killing an Israeli settler in June near a settlement northwest of Ramallah. Fifty-five Palestinians were injured by Israel's live ammunition and rubber-coated bullets in the clashes that broke out between the Palestinian protesters and the Israeli forces, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Islamic movement of Hamas said that "the Israeli war crimes won't succeed in breaking the Palestinian will." Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said the Qalandia "massacre is an example of the Israeli terrorism," calling upon the international community to end the double-standards policy. The Palestinian death toll since the beginning of October has climbed to 88, including 18 children. Fourteen Israelis were killed in stabbing and running over attacks carried out by Palestinians. The flaring violence between Israel and the Palestinians sparked in mid-September with intense clashes at al-Aqsa mosque compound in East Jerusalem between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli forces.
