RAMALLAH, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Wednesday rejected any Israeli plans to establish buffer zones in the northern Gaza Strip to distribute aid, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported.
"The talk about the so-called establishment of a buffer zone in northern Gaza Strip and Jabalia to distribute aid through a private American company and with foreign funding are completely rejected and unacceptable plans," Nabil Abu Rudeineh, official spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency, said in a statement carried by WAFA.
Abu Rudeineh considered the plan violates all international legitimacy resolutions and international law that consider the Gaza Strip an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory.
He added that any plans related to the future of the Gaza Strip or the distribution of aid are only done through the State of Palestine and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as well as other relevant international organizations.
On Oct. 5, the Israeli army began intense bombardment of areas in the northern Gaza Strip, before launching a large-scale military operation there, especially Jabalia.
The Israeli army says its operation in Jabalia and its surroundings aims to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping to launch more attacks.
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip since October last year has risen to 43,985, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Wednesday. ■
