Palestinian president raises alarm about possible Israeli attack on Rafah

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas raised an alarm on Sunday about a possible Israeli attack on the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.

Palestinian news agency, WAFA, said Abbas raised his concerns in a speech during a special meeting of the World Economic Forum hosted by Saudi Arabia

“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.

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“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 stated.

Abbas also urged European countries to recognise the State of Palestine and recognise 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, 2023, until this day,” he added.

Meanwhile, Abbas expressed his fears that Israel would displace Palestinians from the West Bank to Jordan by the end of the conflict in Gaza.

Earlier, 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.

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