Palestinian president, French foreign minister discuss developments in Gaza

By Awad al-Rujoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne have discussed the developments in Israel's ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Abbas received Sejourne in Ramallah late Monday and discussed efforts made to stop the Israeli war on Gaza, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

During the meeting, the Palestinian president stressed the importance of increasing humanitarian and medical aid to Gaza under the current situation.

Abbas also told the top French diplomat his categorical rejection to any displacement attempt to Palestinians from Gaza, stressing it as "an integral part of the Palestinian state."

At several occasions, Israeli ministers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, reiterated calls to encourage what they described as "voluntary evacuation" for Palestinians from Gaza.

The Palestinian president urged France to recognize the State of Palestine, and to back its full membership at the UN. "This is the correct path to implementing the political solution in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative based on the two-state solution," Abbas said.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on Gaza following an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, killing at least 27,478 Palestinians and injuring 66,835 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza's population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar.