WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior Palestinian official says Israeli aggression will not bring peace to the region.

Mohammad Shtayyeh (sh-TAY’-uh) says people under siege will react to defend themselves and that is what is happening in Gaza. He says the only answer is for Israel to accommodate Palestinian demands for ending occupation and for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Shtayyeh is the minister of the Palestinian Economic Council for Research and Development. He spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his nation’s efforts to secure itself will not yield despite growing concern about deaths at the hands of Israel’s lethal force.

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