Abbas Says Israeli Plan for Rafah Assault Aims to Drive Palestinians from Gaza

This satellite image provided by Planet Labs PBC shows the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Jan. 14, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
This satellite image provided by Planet Labs PBC shows the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Jan. 14, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
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Abbas Says Israeli Plan for Rafah Assault Aims to Drive Palestinians from Gaza

This satellite image provided by Planet Labs PBC shows the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Jan. 14, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
This satellite image provided by Planet Labs PBC shows the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Jan. 14, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

The office of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said on Friday a plan announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a military escalation in Rafah at the southern edge of the Gaza Strip aims to drive Palestinians from their land.

The office of Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority that exerts partial self-rule in the Israeli occupied West Bank, said it holds both the Israeli government and the US administration responsible for the plan's repercussions.

The Palestinian presidency called on the UN Security Council to take heed, "because (Israel) taking this step threatens security and peace in the region and the world. It crosses all red lines," the statement said.



Palestinian Health Ministry Says One Dead in Israel West Bank Raid

Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
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Palestinian Health Ministry Says One Dead in Israel West Bank Raid

Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)

The health ministry in the occupied West Bank said one person was killed and nine injured in an Israeli raid on a refugee camp, with the Israeli military saying Saturday it had opened fire at "terrorists".

An 18-year-old man, Muhammad Medhat Amin Amer, "was killed by bullets from the (Israeli) occupation in the Balata camp" in the territory's north, the Palestinian health ministry said in a late-night statement, adding that nine people were injured, "four of whom are in critical condition".

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, the raid began on Friday night and triggered violent clashes, AFP reported.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli troops entered the camp from the Awarta checkpoint and "deployed snipers on the rooftops of surrounding buildings".

In a statement on Saturday, the Israeli military said that during the "counterterrorism" operation, "terrorists placed explosives in the area in order to harm (military) soldiers, hurled explosives, molotov cocktails, and rocks and shot fireworks at the forces".

"The forces fired toward the terrorists in order to remove the threat. Hits were identified," the statement said.

Violence in the West Bank has intensified since war broke out in the Gaza Strip after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Since then, at least 815 Palestinians have been killed in the territory by Israeli troops or settlers, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.

In the same period, Palestinian attacks in the West Bank have killed at least 25 Israelis, according to official Israeli figures.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since conquering it in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.