The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday called on the Israeli government to evict all the Jews from Hevron and warned that the growing tensions in the city could erupt into an all-out confrontation.

In a message to the members of the Quartet, Abbas condemned supposed assaults against Arabs as a 'despicable crime' against innocent civilians and demanded that the international community exert pressure on Israel to remove the Jews from the city.

"The presence of the Jewish settlers in the city is a serious provocation," the PA officials said. "Unless the [Israeli] government removes them from the city, there will be a big explosion."