GAZA, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday warned of a possible Israeli attack on the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, expressing his fear of the displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank to Jordan after the end of the conflict.
Abbas said in a speech during a special meeting of the World Economic Forum hosted by Saudi Arabia, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
"If Israel invades the city of Rafah, where most of the people of the Gaza Strip gather, the biggest catastrophe in the history of the Palestinian people will occur, and they will be displaced outside the Gaza Strip," stressed the president.
"We called for an end to the aggression and to supply the population with the humanitarian supplies they need, and under no circumstances will we accept the displacement of Palestinians, whether from Gaza or the West Bank outside their homeland," he added.
Abbas also called on European countries to recognize the State of Palestine and recognize it as a full member state of the United Nations.
"There must be a political solution that brings together the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Jerusalem in an independent Palestinian state through an international conference. This is what we have called for since October 7 (last year) until this day," he added.
He noted that "while Israel has the right to obtain security, Palestinians also have the right to obtain the right to self-determination, an independent state like the rest of the peoples of the world."
Meanwhile, Abbas expressed his fears that Israel would displace Palestinians from the West Bank to Jordan after the end of the Gaza conflict.
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a plan for the ground operation in Rafah but did not allow the army to move yet, according to Israeli media.
Rafah has become the last refuge for more than 1.4 million Palestinians after their displacement from the northern and central Gaza Strip in light of the ongoing violence between Hamas and Israel for more than six months.
Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage. ■
