Gaza integral part of Palestine, we reject schemes for its separation: Palestinian President Abbas

Awad Rjoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that the Gaza Strip is an “integral” part of the Palestinian state during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ramallah.

He rejected “any acceptance or collaboration with Israel's schemes to segregate” the coastal enclave.

Abbas underscored “the imperative of maintaining the current cease-fire in Gaza and achieving a comprehensive cessation of Israeli aggression to protect civilians from the airstrikes and violence perpetrated by the Israeli military,” according to the Palestine news agency, WAFA.

He “emphasized the critical need for a swift increase in humanitarian, medical, and food assistance, as well as the provision of water, electricity, and fuel,” it said.

Abbas handed Blinken a comprehensive dossier outlining “Israeli occupation crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, encompassing acts of killing, destruction, ethnic cleansing, and other egregious offenses.”

The Palestinian president urged Blinken to “compel the Israeli government to immediately halt actions and violations against Palestinian prisoners and the broader population.”

He reiterated his staunch rejection and prevention of the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank, including Jerusalem.

“Abbas stressed the necessity for US intervention to thwart what he characterized as Israeli authorities' attempts to forcibly evict Palestinian residents in the West Bank, particularly in the Jordan Valley, where there is an ongoing silent annexation plan by settlers and the Israeli occupation army,” said WAFA.

Earlier Thursday, Blinken arrived in Ramallah in the West Bank from Israel, where he held meetings with Israeli officials to discuss extending the humanitarian pause between Tel Aviv and Hamas.

During his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of the Security Cabinet in West Jerusalem, Blinken urged Israel to take necessary measures to prevent harm to civilians in its war against Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala