Ramallah - "Jerusalem" dot com - Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said that the Israeli aggression against the people of Aqabat Jabr camp, south of Jericho, is a major crime, which claimed the lives of more than 5 martyrs and a number of wounded, stressing the need for the international community to move to stop these crimes immediately.

Shtayyeh added, at the beginning of the cabinet session, today, Monday, that these repressive occupation measures will not discourage our people from claiming their national rights and obtaining their freedom and national independence, stressing that the government will stand by our people in Jericho Governorate, and provide them with everything necessary.

He stressed that the government is following the continuous siege on the city of Ariha for the tenth day in a row, as it is a major crime and a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law.

The Council of Ministers also condemned the continuous acts of piracy practiced by the occupation government, especially the arbitrary decision to deduct an additional amount of 52 million shekels per month, bringing the deducted amount to 102 million shekels per month, under the pretext of paying the salaries of prisoners and martyrs.

He said: This amount, in its annual total, is equivalent to 1.2 billion shekels, and it exceeds the annual budget deficit. On the other hand, it deepens the financial crisis we are facing, and the total deductions for this month amounted to 276 million shekels. The rights of prisoners and families of martyrs, stressing his commitment to implement all agreements signed with professional syndicates and federations in the event that the necessary funds are available and salaries are regular.

He appreciated the national and responsible position of all syndicates and federations, and their understanding of the challenges that Palestine is going through in light of the multiplying unjust deductions. I regret that some claim that the financial crisis is fabricated. This is unreasonable and unacceptable.

He expressed his hope that the multiple American visits would result in curbing the Israeli measures against us, politically, securityly, religiously and financially.

In international affairs, Shtayyeh condoled with the victims of the earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, expressing the government's readiness to send a team from the Civil Defense and the Red Crescent to help.

He said: Palestine is located in the area of the Afro-Asian Rift Valley, which is a region of earthquakes, and there is an earthquake that strikes the region every hundred years, the last of which was the earthquake that struck Palestine in 1927, and destroyed parts of some Palestinian cities, so we demand that Israel completely stop its excavations under Al-Aqsa Mosque.

He called on the "UNESCO" to send a team to find out the seriousness of these excavations, and to prepare an engineering evaluation study on what is going on under the mosque.

Today, the Council of Ministers is scheduled to discuss issues of concern to the Ministry of Endowments in matters related to Hajj and Umrah, building mosques and providing imams, and strengthening the role of endowment properties in economic development, in addition to financial, security and political reports and projects to enhance the steadfastness of our people.