CAIRO 

Egypt on Sunday strongly condemned Israeli military escalation in the occupied West Bank and Tel Aviv's “scorched earth” policy.

The Israeli army launched a large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank earlier this week, killing at least 26 Palestinians, arresting dozens, and inflicting huge financial losses on the territory.

The offensive coincides with a brutal onslaught launched by Tel Aviv against Gaza, which has killed more than 40,700 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 94,100 others since last Oct. 7.

In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry denounced “Israeli attempts to expand the scope of confrontations inside the Palestinian territories, including the West Bank and east Jerusalem as well as its excessive use of force, destruction of infrastructure and arrests which are accompanied by torture.”

“These violations should not be left unaccountable and that Israel, as an occupying force, must abide by legal obligations and protect Palestinian residents instead of its continued attempts to fuel up the conflict,” it added.

It renewed warning of hazards of the “scorched earth” policy adopted by Israel to undermine future Palestinian state, torpedo remaining hope of Palestinians to restore their legitimate rights and establish their own independent state within 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Israel has continued its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Israeli forces and illegal settlers have also killed at least 676 Palestinians and injured nearly 5,600 in the West Bank since last Oct. 7, according to Palestinian figures.

The situation continues to escalate following a landmark opinion by the International Court of Justice on July 19, which declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi