Palestinian chief tells high US diplomat following Israeli order to evacuate Gaza civilians will result in ‘second Nakba’.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has informed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that he “rejects the compelled displacement” of Palestinians from Gaza, following Israel’s order for all the enclave’s civilians to maneuver to the south.
Abbas mentioned at Friday’s assembly in Jordan’s capital Amman that such an occasion would represent a “second Nakba”, referring to the mass displacement of Palestinians within the 1948 struggle surrounding Israel’s creation, the official Palestinian information company WAFA reported.
He additionally mentioned that humanitarian corridors should be allowed within the blockaded coastal enclave instantly to forestall a humanitarian catastrophe, the report mentioned.
Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Bays mentioned Blinken was in Jordan to barter, to not ask for the cessation of hostilities.
“Blinken is predicted to additionally journey to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt to make progress on the discharge of American captives held by Hamas and negotiate the secure exit of 500 to 600 US residents or twin nationals at the moment in Gaza,” he mentioned.
“The diplomatic journey can also be aiming to keep away from a regional escalation of the struggle. However not the cessation of hostilities. He’s not saying Israel ought to cease the aggression on Gaza,” Bays added.
Earlier on Friday, Blinken met Jordan’s King Abdullah II who additionally referred to as for “opening humanitarian corridors to permit for the entry of pressing medical and aid help to Gaza, and defending civilians and stopping the escalation and struggle on Gaza”, an announcement from the royal court docket mentioned.
In the meantime, 1000’s of individuals gathered in Amman on Friday for an illustration in help of Palestinians.
Greater than 10,000 folks massed within the centre of the town close to the Grand Husseini Mosque.
They held banners, studying: “The victory march will proceed, solidarity with Palestine” and “Stand with Palestine, Liberated Palestine”.
There was a heavy police presence within the space, in keeping with the AFP information company.
Witnesses mentioned police fired tear gasoline to halt about 500 demonstrators who had reached a safety checkpoint exterior Amman on a freeway resulting in a foremost border crossing with Israel.
Jordan is anxious {that a} regional widening of violence arising from the Israel-Hamas struggle might have repercussions for itself provided that a big proportion of its inhabitants is Palestinian.
Israel is in the midst of a struggle to “destroy” Hamas, an armed group that guidelines the Gaza Strip, after the Palestinian fighters stormed its southern border over the weekend and killed greater than 1,300 folks.
Israel has since been pounding Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip, the place 1,537 folks have been killed.
The Israeli navy mentioned it has dropped 6,000 bombs on the Gaza Strip since October 7, practically matching the variety of bombs the US utilized in Afghanistan in a single yr.
Afghanistan is nearly 1,800 occasions greater than the besieged enclave.
