Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, urged the United States to use its power and influence to prevent Israel from carrying out its threat to enter Rafah, the city at the southern end of the Gaza Strip with the largest number of Palestinians, with its army. His statement occurred on April 28, during the special meeting of the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia focused on finding alternatives to de-escalate the conflict in Gaza. A Hamas official announced that a delegation will travel to Cairo on Monday to advance ceasefire negotiations.
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“The United States is the only country that can prevent Israel from perpetrating this crime,” said Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, regarding the possibility of the Israeli Army carrying out a military ground incursion in Rafah, a city bordering Egypt in the far south. of the Gaza Strip, shelter for approximately 1.4 million Palestinians, most of them internally displaced from the war against Hamas, according to the UNHCR.
“What Israel will do in the coming days is invade the city of Rafah, because all the Palestinians from Gaza have moved there. It only takes one small attack to force everyone to leave Palestine and we will witness the greatest catastrophe in the history of the Palestinian people.Abbas warned at the special meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh on April 28, dedicated to addressing Israel's war against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave.
The session is expected to last until Monday, and will feature the participation of Egypt and Qatar, countries that have stood out as mediators in the war. On April 29 it will arrive from United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Rafah is the latest destination for Palestinian civilians displaced from other areas of the Strip due to military incursions and incessant Israeli bombing.
Recognize the State of Palestine
For Abbas, the only way out Israeli-Palestinian conflict is that the international community “commits to its obligations” and that “just as they recognized the State of Israel,” they recognize the State of Palestine.
“Only after we recognize this can we sit down with Israel and negotiate the borders, and only then can we all enjoy full peace,” declared the head of the Palestinian Authority, which governs a section of the Palestinian territory of the West Bank.
However, the Israeli onslaught continues. On April 28, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry confirmed that Since the beginning of the escalation of this conflict, 34,454 Palestinians have died in Gaza.
The Israeli army has sought to exterminate Hamas in the Gaza Strip in response to the Islamist group's multiple attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage, including children and the elderly.
US vetoes resolution to access Palestine as a UN member state
![](https://s.france24.com/media/display/618d39a8-fe63-11ee-b2f9-005056a97e36/w:980/p:16x9/ES_20240419_153558_153732_CS.jpg)
On April 18, in the UN Security Council, the United States vetoed a resolution on the recognition of a Palestinian state.
Hamas delegation to Cairo to advance ceasefire negotiations
A Hamas official confirmed to Reuters on April 28 that a delegation from the group will travel to Cairo to present to mediators its proposal for a ceasefire and respond to Israel's offer of a truce in exchange for the release of part of the hostages. The delegation is expected to arrive in Egypt on Monday.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity and did not elaborate on the group's proposals.
![Protesters hold banners and wave Israeli flags in a protest for the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on April 27, 2024.](https://s.france24.com/media/display/9ead003c-055e-11ef-b5ad-005056bf30b7/000_34QE2UB.jpg)
Previous ceasefire negotiations have failed to reconcile the positions of Hamas and the State of Israel.
Hamas seeks an agreement that will put a definitive end to the war, while Israel has offered humanitarian truces and assures that it will not end its military operations until it has “eradicated” Hamas.
Israel Katz, Israeli Foreign Minister, said on Friday that The plan to invade Rafah could be suspended if an agreement is reached for the release of the hostages.
However, the positions are not unanimous in the State of Israel. On April 28, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (who is not in the war cabinet) urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to stop the military incursion into Rafah, believing that accepting the Egyptian-brokered proposals would be a humiliating defeat.
With EFE and Reuters
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