Ramallah:  Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye has called upon the UN to provide protection to the Palestinian people in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.

He said in a press statement on Tuesday that all the reports of international, Palestinian, and Israeli human rights non-government organisations have warned against the practices of the Israeli authorities against the Palestinian people wherever they are, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Due to the Israeli practices and violations of international law and human rights in the Palestinian territories, the UN is demanded to provide protection to the Palestinian people,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “the UN is obliged to heed the compelling evidence presented by all leading human rights organisations and hold Israel accountable for its crimes against Palestinians.”

“Equally and urgently, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) must investigate Israel’s crime against humanity without delay,” the statement said.

Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are claimed by the Palestinians, in the 1967 Middle East war, and has controlled them ever since. The Palestinians have been seeking to establish an independent state on these territories together with the enclave Gaza Strip.