Palestinian Authority chief negotiator Saeb Erekat on Thursday took full advantage of the lethal terror attacks in Israel not to extend his condolences, but to issue a warning.
"Israel stands warned of any possible aggressive action or collective punishment measures against the Palestinian population in Gaza," Erekat said in a statement after the attacks that left 8 Israelis dead and 33 more wounded.
Erekat made the requisite statement that the Palestinian Authority is "against violence in all its forms," before outlining the PA's fear Israel would use the attacks as a "pretext for aggression."
The PA official called on the international community to ensure calm in the region.
Earlier on Thursday, Hamas warned Israel not to attack Gaza, following a statement by Defense Minister Ehud Barak that the IDF would strike back at the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza in response to the deadly attacks.
As a precaution, Hamas sent its senior commanders into hiding and evacuated command centers, in anticipation of IDF strikes in response to the terror attack that IDF sources speculated originated in the Gaza.
Israel subsequently killed Abu Awad Kamel a-Neirab, commander of the Salah a-Din Brigades, the "military" wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, in an airstrike.
A-Neirab was killed along with two other terrorists and a child who was with them.