Palestine calls for international protection amid heightened tensions over Jerusalem

RAMALLAH/GAZA, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian government called Thursday for international protection of the the Palestinian people over "the continued escalation due to the occupation."

Government spokesperson Yousef Al-Mahmoud denounced the "incursion of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Jewish groups" besides the Israeli raids into two university campuses in the West Bank where it seized documents and books, according to a press statement.

Al-Mahmoud considered such Israeli practices as a "flagrant violation of international norms, systems and laws."

Meanwhile, Israeli forces detained 16 Palestinians during raids into Palestinian cities and towns throughout the West Bank in the past 24 hours, according to Palestinian sources.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club (PPC) said Thursday that Israeli forces had arrested 320 people since the outbreak of the recent protests eight days ago.

Israeli forces dispersed Palestinian demonstrators using force in West Bank cities of Nablus and Ramallah, reportedly injuring dozens by tear gas grenades and rubber coated bullets.

In a large rally on the occasion of the establishment of Islamic Hamas movement's 30th anniversary in Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, said the U.S. Donald Trump's declaration on Jerusalem "sparked a new Palestinian Intifada."

Haniyeh said there were "three tracks to drop Trump's decision and the deal of the century - the achievement of Palestinian unity, the building of strong alliances at the level of the region, and the continuation of the Intifada."

He added "we want to build strong alliances at the regional level. The battle of Jerusalem is not the battle of the Palestinian people alone, but the battle of the nation."

He called for accelerating the national reconciliation process in order to "strengthen the overall resistance to confront the occupier."

"The Palestinian decision-making institution, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), must work quickly to bring together all the national and Islamic forces," he added.

Tensions have been escalating in Gaza and the West Bank between Israel and the Palestinians since Trump declared last week that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.

Six Palestinians were killed and more than 1,500 injured in the wave of tension that dominated the Palestinian territories after Trump's announcement. Enditem