Palestinians in the coastal enclave of the Gaza Strip held a solidarity protest with the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, which is currently experiencing a large-scale military offensive by the Israeli army since Monday morning.
The demonstration was organised by various Palestinian factions based in Gaza to convey to Israel that Jenin is not alone in its battle with Israel.
Participants of the protest carried Palestinian flags and banners which state, "We will defend our city of Jenin," "Gaza will not leave Jenin alone," "The international community should bear its responsibility towards the Palestinian people," and "Israel will pay the price of its crimes."
Ismail Radwan, a senior Hamas official, told °®Âþµº, "The Israeli occupation insists on committing more crimes against our people in all Palestinian territories."
"They [Israel] think that they can separate Gaza and the West Bank, but we came here to prove to them that all our Palestinian areas are the same and will defend our lands all the time," Radwan said.
"We call on our brothers in the security services in Jenin and all the cities of the West Bank to assume their responsibilities and defend their people," he added.
He emphasised that the Israeli aggression on Jenin confirms "the impotence and weakness of the occupation more than it confirms anything else," and stressed that "the resistance in Jenin possesses the fighting spirit that will defeat the occupation and that all historical facts confirmed the impossibility of the occupation's victory in the battle of wills against the Palestinian people."
The official further called on "the people in the West Bank to intensify the clash with the enemy everywhere, and all Palestinians everywhere to organise the largest protest activities in support of Jenin."
Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli forces killed at least ten Palestinians during a large-scale military offensive in Jenin city, wounding more than 80 others, some in critical condition, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry.
Mohammed Matar, another participant in the protest, condemned Israel's latest aggression against the Palestinians in Jenin and called on the Palestinians Authority and armed factions in Gaza to unify to defend Jenin.
"Israel only understands the power language, so we have to fight it everywhere and liberate our lands by all means," the 52-year-old middle-aged man, said to TNA.
Mouez Riyad, another Gaza-based participant, told TNA, "We come here to raise our voices not only against Israel but also against the international and Western community, which keep silent towards all Israeli aggressions and crimes in our territories."
"We have to file a complaint against the United States which supports Israel and Israeli officials over their crimes against the Palestinian people," Riyad said.