Abbas fears Israel mulling to deport West Bank Palestinians to Jordan

By Awad Rajoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has expressed fears that Israel may be planning to deport occupied West Bank Palestinians to Jordan once its war on Gaza is over.

“Israel destroyed at least 75% of the Gaza Strip and killed 34,000 Gazans within 200 days, most of them women and children,” Abbas said at a World Economic Forum event in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday.

"I fear that after finishing off Gaza, Israel would head to the West Bank and deport its people to Jordan,” he added.

The Palestinian president called on the world to "recognize Palestine as a full member state of the United Nations."

He also urged the European nations to "recognize the State of Palestine as they recognize Israel."

On April 19, the 15-member UN Security Council gathered in New York to vote on a draft resolution authored by Algeria recommending the admission of the State of Palestine for UN membership.

It was blocked by a US veto with 12 votes in favor and two abstentions, including the UK and Switzerland.

Israel has waged a brutal war on Gaza since a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7 caused the deaths of around 1,200 people.

Nearly 34,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed by Israel. Over 77,400 people have also been wounded amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi