Abbas to Putin: We Can't Accept Israel's Plans to Divide or Separate Gaza

Russian President Vladimir Putin receiving his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in the Kremlin (File photo: AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin receiving his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in the Kremlin (File photo: AP)
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Abbas to Putin: We Can't Accept Israel's Plans to Divide or Separate Gaza

Russian President Vladimir Putin receiving his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in the Kremlin (File photo: AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin receiving his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in the Kremlin (File photo: AP)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has insisted that Gaza is an integral part of Palestine and cannot be separated or subjected to the Israeli occupation's plans for division.

In a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, Abbas emphasized that Gaza remains the responsibility of Palestine.

The President underscored the necessity of intervening to stop the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.

He emphasized the need to release Palestinian tax funds, currently withheld by Israel, and reiterated that Gaza remains the responsibility of Palestine.

Sputnik news agency said Putin invited Abbas to visit Russia and stressed the importance of "ending the bloodshed" in the Gaza Strip as soon as possible and resuming the political settlement process in the Palestinian territories.

On Friday, the European Commission said it had adopted a $130 million aid package to support the Palestinian Authority.

The commission said the aid would help pay salaries and pensions of civil servants in the West Bank, social allowances for vulnerable families, and the payment for medical referrals to East Jerusalem hospitals.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU is also ready to continue helping the Palestinian Authority in the longer term.

"We are reflecting on a wider mid-term package for next year to contribute to the economic and political stability of Gaza and the West Bank, once conditions allow on the ground, as part of wider international efforts to reinstate a two-state solution," von der Leyen said.

For 2024, the EU has also set aside 125 million euros in humanitarian aid for people in the besieged Gaza Strip, where EU commissioner Josep Borrell said food shortages had reached unprecedented levels.

"This is a grave development and should be a wakeup call for the whole world to act now to prevent a deadly human catastrophe," the EU's top diplomat said.

"Aid needs to reach those in need through all necessary means, including humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs."



EU's Kallas Says Happy to Read about Macron's Syria Sanctions Relief Proposal

 EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a joint press conference with Poland's Foreign Affairs Minister at the EU Foreign Ministers informal meeting in Gymnich format, in Warsaw, Poland, on May 8, 2025. (AFP)
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a joint press conference with Poland's Foreign Affairs Minister at the EU Foreign Ministers informal meeting in Gymnich format, in Warsaw, Poland, on May 8, 2025. (AFP)
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EU's Kallas Says Happy to Read about Macron's Syria Sanctions Relief Proposal

 EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a joint press conference with Poland's Foreign Affairs Minister at the EU Foreign Ministers informal meeting in Gymnich format, in Warsaw, Poland, on May 8, 2025. (AFP)
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a joint press conference with Poland's Foreign Affairs Minister at the EU Foreign Ministers informal meeting in Gymnich format, in Warsaw, Poland, on May 8, 2025. (AFP)

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday that she was happy to read that France's President Emmanuel Macron had proposed sanctions relief for Syria.

Macron said on Wednesday he would urge the EU to end sanctions on Syria when they come up for renewal in June.

"We have currently the ongoing discussions about the sanctions relief on Syria, and I was happy to read that actually President Macron is in favor of the relief of sanctions," Kallas told reporters in Warsaw.