Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli raid in Jenin

Saudi Arabia on Thursday strongly condemned a raid by Israeli commandos on the Palestinian town of Jenin that killed seven people and injured two, state news agency SPA reported.

The Saudi foreign ministry said it denounced Israeli forces’ “storming of the city” that led to “the fall of a number of victims.”

The ministry said Saudi Arabia rejected “serious violations of international law by the Israeli occupation forces” and called on the international community to take responsibility to “end the occupation, stop the Israeli escalation and aggressions, and provide the necessary protection for civilians,” SPA said.

Kuwait and Oman also condemned the attack, their state news agencies said on Thursday.

The Israeli military said it sent special forces into Jenin to detain members of the Islamic Jihad armed group suspected of having carried out and planning “multiple major terror attacks,” shooting several of them after they opened fire.

UN and Arab mediators said they were in talks with Israel and Palestinian factions in hope of heading off escalation after the clash in Jenin, among areas of the northern West Bank that have seen intensified Israeli operations in the last year.