Erekat slams Israel for preparing to invade Gaza

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on Tuesday slammed Israel for its preparations to invade the Gaza Strip, the Voice of Palestine radio reported.

"What is going on in Gaza is a dangerous, unendurable situation" as "there were massacres committed on the daily basis in addition to the plans to invade Gaza," Erekat told the radio.

Erekat, who is also a top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, renewed his calls to deploy international forces on the borders between Israel and the Palestinian territories and implement Fourth Geneva Convention to protect civilians.

"Mutual truce (between Israel and the Palestinians) is the most important factor to make the (Palestinian) national unity government a success," Erekat said.

Meanwhile, eleven Palestinians were wounded in artillery shelling in northern Gaza Strip where Israel has been conducting military operations.

Israel steps up military offensives in the Gaza Strip as militants have kept firing rockets into Israel.

Recent operations in northern Gaza Strip are part of a broader offensive unleashed in late June when three Palestinian militant groups kidnapped an Israeli soldier in a cross border raid.

According to a report issued Tuesday by the Palestinian Health Ministry, 101 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of November.

Most of the victims died in Beit Hanoun, a town in northern Gaza Strip where Israel launched one of the biggest operations in years.

Source: Xinhua