RAMALLAH: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has held telephonic conversation with US Secretary of State and French President Emmanuel Macron amid escalating tension in the middle east, Western media reported on Saturday.
“Mahmoud Abbas emphasized that the present escalation in the region is an outcome of the political stalemate, the rejection of the Palestinian people’s valid right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, the current Israeli aggression against the Palestinians, their sacred sites, land and the constant terrorism of Israeli settlers,” Palestine’s official WAFA news agency reported.
Abbas Speaks with Blinken, Macron Amid Tension with Israel
The Palestinian President “highlighted the world’s silence, which has also encouraged the Israeli occupation to do more crimes, as witnessed in the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem, where hundreds of Palestinians have lost their lives, thousands have been wounded, and many have been arrested,” it maintained.
He asked Macron “to urgently intervene to stop the Israeli aggression against the Palestinians by Israeli occupation troops and extremist settlers.”
As per media reports, US Secretary of State said that he has held telephonic talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and discussed current situation in the region.
Hamas said it launched operation on Saturday, adding it is a surprise, multifront attack was in reply to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and rising settler violence.
Read Also: 232 Palestinians Martyred, 250 Israelis Killed in Palestine-Israel Escalation
Palestinian Health Ministry said that 232 Palestinians have been martyred in Israeli airstrikes on besieged Gaza following a Hamas surprise attack on Israel. In an update on its social media, the health ministry stated on Saturday that 1,697 Palestinians were also injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. The ministry maintained that its medical teams were making efforts “to save dozens of critical injured people”.
On other hand, Israeli media said that 250 Israelis have been killed in an escalation with Hamas. It added that more than 1,000 Israelis were injured in surprise attack of Hamas. According to Turkish media, the fighting is still taking place in southern Israel.
