Palestinians praying in a crowded mosque, surround the bodies of six of the eleven Palestinians who were killed overnight by Israeli army

PARIS, February 20 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - France on Wednesday, February 19, demanded that Israel immediately stop its incursions into the West Bank and Gaza Strip, following an overnight raid in Gaza City that left 11 Palestinians dead.

"France calls on Israel to show restraint and immediately put an end to such incursions, which go beyond Israel's security needs and can only feed the cycle of violence," said deputy foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

Valero also urged the Palestinian Authority to "assume its responsibilities with respect to keeping public order and put a stop to violent acts committed by armed Palestinian groups."

A total of 10 Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli troops early Wednesday during a raid in the eastern part of Gaza City, while an 11th -- a member of the resistance movement Hamas -- blew himself up, hospital sources said.

Later in the day, Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinians in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and a Palestinian activist was killed when his car exploded in Jenin, also in the northern West Bank.

Russia Voices "Profound Concern" Over Israeli Raids

Meanwhile, Russia expressed its "profound concern" Wednesday at a massive Israeli raid on Gaza City overnight that killed 11 people in the densely populated conurbation.

“The latest outbreak of violence and the loss of human life evokes profound concern in Moscow," foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said in a statement, noting that the events come amid "the apparent emergence of a prospect of normalization" in the region.

Palestinians urge UN condemnation of deadly Israeli raid

Meanwhile, the Palestinian leadership called on the UN Security Council Wednesday to condemn a massive Israeli raid on Gaza City.

"It is high time that the UN Security Council condemned the massacre of Palestinian civilians," a leadership statement said.

"One hundred Israeli tanks and bulldozers backed up by Apache helicopters attacked the Tuffah and Shujaiyah neighbourhoods of Gaza City at 11 pm (2100 GMT) Tuesday causing the deaths of 11 Palestinians.

"The Israeli government is taking advantage of the international situation to commit crimes against the Palestinian people," it said.

The leadership statement condemned the double standards being adopted in the midst of the Iraq crisis and slammed the "silence of the international community about the war of liquidation being waged against the Palestinian people."

Separately, Palestinian health minister Ahmed al-Shibi called for "international protection of the Palestinian people and implementation of the fourth Geneva convention" on the protection of civilian populations in occupied territories in time of war.

And Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's mainstream Fatah faction issued a statement condemning Israel's policy of terror, warning it could only lead to yet more violence in the region.

"We want Israel to stop this military escalation, this policy of terror against the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people," the group said.

"This escalation is aimed at destroying all the key initiatives which would allow the Palestinians to get their rights. It will bring more violence to the region and will not bring security."

Fatah called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to curb its aggressive policies and warned that it reserved the right to defend itself.

"We will be in the front line with the fighters to defend ourselves against any Israeli attack," it said.