MOSCOW, December 29 (Sputnik) — Israel has used the Gaza Strip as a testing ground for new and illegal weapons, the top official of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI) party said, as quoted by the Middle East Monitor on Monday.
"There is conclusive evidence that it used the Gaza Strip as a test bed for its deadly weaponry," PNI Secretary-General Mustafa Barghouti was quoted by MEM as saying.
Speaking at a 2014 review in the Palestinian de facto administrative capital of Ramallah in the West Bank, Barghouti claimed Israel had fired 21,000 metric tons of high explosives during the 50-day Israel-Gaza conflict in July and August.
The secretary-general added that amount was equivalent to two nuclear bombs, and said that Israel had also used internationally prohibited weapons, including white phosphorus and barrel bombs, as reported by the news outlet.
"What we are witnessing in the West Bank and Jerusalem is the appearance of a new uprising, albeit in scattered waves,” Barghouti said.
Bourghouti also warned that Gaza was set to "explode" if reconstruction materials were not allowed into the region following land, sea and air blockades imposed by Israel since 2007. On Sunday, hundreds of Palestinians marched in Gaza demanding for Israel to end the blockades which was hindering reconstruction.
Meanwhile, an amended Palestinian resolution outlining that Israel should end its occupation of the West Bank by 2017 is to be presented to the United Nations Security Council on Monday. Palestinians are seeking the creation of an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
