Palestinian presidency warns against Israel’s announced invasion of Rafah

Ramallah: The official spokesperson for the Palestinian Presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, warned that the Israeli authorities have begun preparing to commit the "greatest crime of genocide" by invading Rafah and held the Biden administration responsible. According to a statement issued Monday, Abu Rudeineh said the Biden administration provides financial and military support to Israel, stands against international efforts to stop the war and encourages Netanyahu to commit "massacres" against the Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. He added that an invasion of Rafah would mean that a million and a half Palestinians would be subjected to a "genocidal massacre" and displacement attempts, urging the US to take immediate action and hold Israel accountable for "serious" violations against international law. He added that regional peace and security would not be achieved without a just solution to the Palestinian issue and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capi tal. Palestinian human rights organisations denounced Israeli forces' evacuation orders that affected many residential neighbourhoods east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, hours after the bombing of houses. The organisation issued a statement that says preliminary estimates indicate that neighbourhoods and squares mentioned in the Israel army's threats house more than 250,000 people out of more than a million residing in besieged Rafah, which has become a shelter for displaced Gazans after the start of the Israeli war on October 7. The statement warns that a possible Israeli invasion of Rafah would lead to the collapse of the fragile humanitarian aid system, which passes through the border crossings in the southeast of the city of Rafah, meaning stopping the movement of trucks and the entry of aid completely. Source: Jordan News Agency