Palestinian presidency accuses Israel of 'ethnic cleansing' in West Bank

AFP , Monday 3 Feb 2025

The office of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas on Monday denounced an ongoing Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank, saying it was aimed at "ethnic cleansing" and urging the United States to intervene.

Mourners carry the body of 27-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Hadoush, who was killed the day before d
Mourners carry the body of 27-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Hadoush, who was killed the day before during clashes with Israeli forces, during his funeral at the al-Aroub camp for Palestinian refugees south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. AFP

 

In a statement, spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the presidency "condemned the occupation authorities' expansion of their comprehensive war on our Palestinian people in the West Bank to implement their plans aimed at displacing citizens and ethnic cleansing".

"We demand the intervention of the US administration before it is too late, to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against our people and our land," Rudeineh told the Palestinian official news agency WAFA in a statement coinciding with a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington.

The Israeli military launched a major offensive in the West Bank on January 21.

The Palestinian health ministry said on Monday that Israeli forces had killed 70 people in the occupied West Bank since the start of 2025.

"Seventy martyrs in the West Bank since the beginning of this year," the Ramallah-based ministry said in a statement detailing 10 children, one woman and two elderly people among the dead. The ministry confirmed to AFP they were "killed by the Israeli occupation".

Netanyahu is visiting Washington where he is expected to begin talks on a second phase of Israel's truce with Hamas on Monday.

The next stage is expected to cover the release of the remaining captives and include discussions on a more permanent end to the war.

Before departing, Netanyahu told reporters he believed "working closely with President Trump, we can redraw it (Middle East's map) even further and for the better."

Trump has repeatedly touted a plan to "clean out" Gaza, calling for Palestinians to move to neighbouring countries such as Egypt or Jordan, a call rejected by Cairo and Amman.

Abbas's office said in the statement the "Palestinian people will not accept any plans, whether displacement or an alternative homeland".

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