Palestinian PM warns Israel against policies in East Jerusalem

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye has warned Israel against maintaining its policies in East Jerusalem and held it responsible for any possible future conflict between the two sides.

"The Palestinian citizens in East Jerusalem are subjected to the most horrific policies and practices of persecution, racism, and ethnic cleansing to displace them from their homes and replace them with settlers," Ishtaye said in a statement.

He added that the Palestinians, either in East Jerusalem or the West Bank and everywhere, "will not succumb to these policies and will resist them with all strength and determination", Xinhua news agency reported.

Sheikh Jarrah, one of the most prestigious neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem that includes most diplomatic consulates, has witnessed tensions since the beginning of last week.

Tensions have mounted as Israeli authorities threatened to expel several Palestinian families from their homes.

The Israeli authorities seek to demolish 22,000 homes, of which 250 were announced for demolition during the first half of this year, according to Palestinian officials.

Over the past few months, 34 residential, commercial and agricultural facilities in the city have been demolished by the Israeli authorities, according to Palestinian institutions operating in East Jerusalem.

During his meeting with 30 US Congress members on Monday, Ishtaye said Israel is politically responsible for its endless measures against the Palestinians, either by building settlements or expelling families from their homes.

Official Palestinian reports said that more than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in 151 settlements established on Palestinian lands in East Jerusalem and the West Bank since 1967.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry called on the international community to deal with the utmost seriousness with "the hostile-to-peace Israeli statements".

The call was made in a press statement in response to what Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said in a dialogue session at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday that the Palestinians will have an entity in the future but not a full-fledged state.

"In the end, we will find ourselves in a solution that depends on two entities, in which we respect Palestinian sovereignty and governance, while our security needs are respected," Gantz said.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said that "there is a need for serious and practical action to save the two-state solution, including the quick translation of Washington's words and positions into action, and fulfilling its commitments it made to the conflict and the Palestinian cause".

In Gaza, the Islamic Resistance Movement said in a press statement that Gantz's remarks about rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state "reveal the reality of Israel based on violating the Palestinian people's rights".

Direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians stopped in 2014 following deep disputes on Israeli settlements and establishing a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.

Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are claimed by the Palestinians, in the 1967 Middle East war and has controlled them ever since.