Palestinian FM: Our blood is a 'winning card' in Israeli elections

Palestinian Foreign Minister Fawziya Agabekian said that Palestinian blood has become a “winning card” in the Israeli elections scheduled for October 27, expressing hope that there will be no serious escalation in the coming days.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency on the sidelines of the ninth Istanbul Mediation Conference, hosted by Turkey on Friday and Saturday, she said: “We all know that our blood turns into a winning card during Israeli elections; whoever causes more suffering for Palestinians is the one who wins the Israeli elections.”

Israelis will head to the polls next Tuesday to elect the 120 members of the Knesset, with the main contest between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s camp and opposition parties led by Gadi Eizenkot.

Agabekian added: “We want to see concrete steps on the ground that show the Israeli government, settlers, and settlements that their actions have a price today, or send them a very strong message.”

She stressed that the seizure of Palestinian land is illegal, and that the presence of Israelis there is unlawful as these are occupied territories.

The Palestinian foreign minister called for measures to stop the seizure of Palestinian land, cut off funding for it, and impose sanctions on Israelis involved in such activities.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his army was preparing for a major military operation in the occupied West Bank, describing it as “unprecedented” since the June 1967 war, and threatened to displace Palestinians from their neighborhoods and raid their homes.

Netanyahu made these remarks during a visit to the Hebron area in the southern West Bank, where he appeared wearing a bulletproof vest following a shooting attack near the town of Halhul that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others. The Israeli army killed two Palestinians in response.

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has seen a surge in Israeli military operations and settler attacks since the start of the Israeli genocide war on Gaza in October 2023.