The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah Party on Friday rejected the Israeli threats to storm Palestinian cities and towns in the northern West Bank.

The two groups' rejection came after the Chief of General Staff of the Israeli army Aviv Kochavi gave instructions to intensify preventive measures in the northern West Bank and strengthen defense efforts in the seam area.

In a statement, Osama al-Qawasmi, the Fatah spokesman in the West Bank, said, "Israel is totally mistaken if it thinks that the security iron fist is the solution," adding that the experiences have proven the failure of security solutions.

Also Read: Israel-Palestine conflict: China calls for UN council action, slams US

On Friday, Israeli media reports said that Kochavi gave the order to enhance the army's readiness on all fronts, mainly the Palestinian front, following the killing of two Israelis in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv in central Israel on Thursday.

Hamas spokesman in Gaza Fawzi Barhoum said, "The Israeli threats to the cities of the northern West Bank, especially to Jenin city and its residents, will not break the will of the city's free youths to carry on their struggle."

On Thursday night, Israeli media reported that at least two Israelis were killed and nine others were injured when a Palestinian gunman opened fire at a restaurant and pedestrians in the center of Tel Aviv in central Israel.

Also Read: ‘Free Palestine’: Protesters in major US cities decry airstrikes over Gaza

According to Israeli media, the assailant is a 28-year-old Palestinian man from the refugee camp of Jenin in the northern West Bank. He was reportedly killed in the old city of Jaffa nine hours after the attack.