File Photo: Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency. Photo courtesy of WAFA.
“The US administration, which provides financial and military support to Israel, and stands against the international community to prevent the implementation of international legitimacy resolutions and the cessation of aggression, is the one that encourages Netanyahu and his leaders to continue committing massacres against the Palestinian people, whether in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, as is currently happening in Tulkarm Governorate, and its camps,” said Abu Rudeineh.
Israeli military reinforcements storm the city of Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank right now. Video courtesy of Quds News Network
Abu Rudeineh added: “The invasion of Rafah means that a million and a half Palestinian citizens will be subjected to a genocidal massacre and displacement attempts that were previously warned about.”
"Therefore, we call on the US administration to act immediately and prevent genocide and displacement, and hold Israel accountable for the serious violations it commits against international law before it is too late."
“Peace and security in the entire region will not be achieved without a just solution to the Palestinian cause and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, with its Islamic and Christian sanctities,” Abu Rudeineh said.
The Israeli army said Monday it was evacuating about 100,000 people from eastern Rafah, ahead of an expected ground assault in the southern city of Gaza.
"The estimate is around 100,000 people," a military spokesman told journalists on Monday when asked how many people were being evacuated.
About 1.2 million people are currently sheltering in Rafah, according to the World Health Organization, most having fled there from elsewhere in Gaza during the seven-month Israeli war on the strip.
The evacuation "is part of our plans to dismantle Hamas ... we had a violent reminder of their presence and their operational abilities in Rafah yesterday," the military spokesman said.
"This is an evacuation plan to get people out of harm's way."
The Israeli threats to carry out a ground assault on Rafah have met widespread regional and international condemnation.
Various world capitals and international organizations have warned that an assault on the densely populated city would have catastrophic consequences for a civilian population on the verge of starvation.
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