RAMALLAH: Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas called on Thursday for "an immediate end to the comprehensive aggression against the Palestinian people", his office said following a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II.
In his first public remarks since a massive Hamas onslaught on southern Israeli communities early on Saturday that spiralled into deadly war, Abbas rejected "practices related to killing civilians or abusing them on both sides", according to a statement.
The two leaders met in Amman and discussed "ways to stop the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and deliver aid and relief" to Hamas-controlled Gaza, the statement said.
The targeting of civilians by both Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters "contravenes morals, religion and international law", Abbas said.
According to the statement, he stressed Palestinians "renounce violence and adhere to international legitimacy, peaceful popular resistance, and political action as a path to achieving our national goals".
Abbas also "warned of the danger of the only power plant in the Gaza Strip stopping working due to running out of fuel" and urged action to secure the supply of electricity and water as well as "opening urgent humanitarian corridors".
With dozens of Israeli civilians and security personnel believed to be held captive in Gaza and Palestinian fighters captured by Israel, Abbas called "for the release of civilians, prisoners and detainees".
In a statement after a meeting in Amman, they also warned against a "rise in violence and its spread" as a humanitarian crisis worsens amid Israel's intense bombing campaign in Gaza after a devastating cross-border attack by Hamas.
The Palestinian Authority which Abbas heads is based in the occupied West Bank, while his rival Hamas controls the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Israel said on Thursday there would be no pause in its siege of the Gaza Strip for aid or evacuations until all its hostages were freed, as Washington urged it to protect civilians and the Red Cross warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in the enclave.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, arriving in Tel Aviv on a trip to show solidarity, told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that America would always be by Israel's side and give security assistance, but he urged Israel to show restraint "even when it's difficult".
Israel has vowed to annihilate the Hamas movement that rules the Gaza Strip, in retribution for the deadliest attack on civilians in Israeli history, when hundreds of gunmen crossed the barrier and rampaged through towns on Saturday.
The head of the Israeli military, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, said lessons would be drawn from the security failures around Gaza that enabled the attack.
- Reuters
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