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."



Airlines Avoid Some Mideast Airspace, Cancel Flights

People walk with their luggage as they arrive at the Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
People walk with their luggage as they arrive at the Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Airlines Avoid Some Mideast Airspace, Cancel Flights

People walk with their luggage as they arrive at the Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
People walk with their luggage as they arrive at the Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Airlines are avoiding Iranian and Lebanese airspace and cancelling flights to Israel and Lebanon, as concerns grow over a possible conflict in the region after the killing of senior Hamas and Hezbollah members this week.

Singapore Airlines on Friday appeared to no longer be using Iranian airspace for any of its routes, according to flight tracker Flightradar24.

Taiwan's EVA Air and China Airlines also appeared to be avoiding Iran airspace for flights to Amsterdam on Friday which previously had flown over Iran, Flightradar24 data showed.

In a bulletin, OPSGROUP, a membership-based organization that shares flight risk information, advised traffic between Asia and Europe to avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace, a day after sources told Reuters that top Iranian officials will meet the representatives of Iran's regional allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen to discuss potential retaliation against Israel.

Many airlines, including US and European airlines, already avoid flying over Iran, especially since the reciprocal missile and drone attacks in April between Iran and Israel.

Singapore Airlines' flight to London Heathrow early on Friday went north of Iran through Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, rather than crossing through Iran as it did the day before, Flightradar24 showed.

However, a significant number of airlines on Friday were still flying over Iran, including United Arab Emirates carriers Etihad, Emirates and FlyDubai, as well as Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines.

Over the past two days, Air India, Germany's Lufthansa Group, US carriers United Airlines and Delta Air, and Italy's ITA Airways said they had suspended flights to Tel Aviv.

Airlines this week have also been cancelling and delaying flights to the Lebanese capital Beirut after a strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday. Israel has blamed the attack on Hezbollah, which denied involvement.

Canada on Thursday issued a notice to Canadian aircraft to avoid Lebanese airspace for one month due to the risk to aviation from military activity.

Britain has for the past month advised pilots of potential risk from anti-aircraft weaponry and military activity in Lebanon's airspace.

Should an all-out war break out in the Middle East, OpsGroup said civil aviation will likely face the risk of drones and missiles crossing airways, as well as the increased risk of GPS spoofing - a growing phenomena around Lebanon and Israel where militaries and other actors broadcast signals that trick a plane's GPS system into thinking it is somewhere it is not.