Ramallah, August 13 (QNA) - Palestine's Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned the escalation of Israeli colonist terrorism and attacks against the town of Qusra, south of Nablus, as well as Israeli inhumane practices against Palestinians returning to the Gaza Strip.

In a statement today, the ministry said the crimes were part of systematic policies aimed at displacing Palestinians and uprooting them from their land while imposing a reality that serves plans to annex the West Bank.

It said the attacks by Israeli colonists in Qusra, including the siege of Palestinian families inside their homes for five days, shooting at the homes, damaging electricity and water networks, and an attempt to burn children, constitute systematic acts of terrorism.

The ministry said Israeli occupation authorities use colonists as a tool to carry out their criminal policies, under protection provided by Israeli institutions, reinforcing a system of impunity.

It said Israel's policies and practices in Gaza seek to create an environment that is hostile and unfit for life in order to push Palestinians toward forced displacement and deny them their right to return to their homeland. The ministry stressed that Palestinians' determination to return despite the destruction, humanitarian catastrophe and degrading treatment demonstrates their attachment to their land and rejection of attempts to uproot them.

It called on the international community to take immediate and effective measures to halt colonist terrorism, hold perpetrators accountable and impose sanctions on them and on entities providing them with protection and support. It also called for Israel, as the occupying power, to respect the ceasefire agreement and fulfill its obligations. (QNA)